The Stranger
by lindsayd16
Summary: When you have a family of demons, a family of hunters and a dark past, what happens when you throw someone innocent into the mix? Local Mechanic Dean Winchester is about to find out what happens when the person you love turns into a stranger with a secret. But first, he gets kidnapped. Dean/OC. Rated T for language. Updates every Wednesday.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE: The One Where It All Changes**

"Ah, shit!"

Dean Winchester threw the hot pan of lasagna down roughly on the stove top, a stream of curse words passing his lips as he wished he had put on that second oven mitt. He shook his head as he rushed over to the sink, cranking up the cold water to try and sooth his already blistering fingertips.

The shrill sound of the phone ringing had Dean cussing once again as he switched the water off and grabbed the hand towel they kept by the sink, drying his hands as he made his way over to the landline. Casually flipping the towel on his shoulder, he answered with a hint of annoyance. "Hello?"

"I know you did _not_ just have a tone with me."

Dean smirked as he leaned against the brown leather couch in his apartment he shared with his girlfriend in his hometown of Lawrence Kansas. "Of course not, babe. What do you need?" He asked, glancing at his Rolex that hung a little loose from his wrist _. Already 5:40, Kate would be home soon_. He thought back to his unfinished dinner and hoped whatever she needed wasn't too involved.

"Has Tyler called by any chance?" Kate asked hopefully, crossing her fingers that her older brother had. She jammed her phone in between her shoulder and her ear as she began shoving folders into her desk drawer.

Dean's brows furrowed in confusion as he glanced at the already starting to burn potatoes he had cooking on the burner. "Uh, no he hasn't. Why?" He asked distractedly as he made his way to the stove to turn off the heat.

"No reason." She bit absently at her cheek, noting Dean's uninterested tone. She would worry about it later.

Dean sighed, knowing Kate could probably tell he wasn't listening. He turned his back on the mess that was the kitchen and focused his full attention on his girlfriend of three years. "Is everything okay? Nothing happened right?" He asked, suddenly concerned as he eyed the small black square box that rested on their counter.

"I don't know. He left a message yesterday for me to call him and I did but he hasn't called me back yet and I've tried his cell like a hundred times." Kate was starting to work herself up as she began stifling through her purse, trying to find her car keys. She descended to the first floor of her office on the elevator as she thought about how she was lying to her boyfriend. But, she couldn't mention the reason she was so worried was because Tyler had said something about demons on his tail.

"Maybe something came up. I'm sure everything's fine." Dean reassured before an idea popped into his head. "I'll tell you what, if we still haven't heard anything by tomorrow morning we'll head over to his place and check things out, okay?" He offered, knowing that Kate will probably want to tell her brother about their potential good news anyways.

That seemed to calm the twenty-four-year old's nerves as she arrived at her 2008 cherry red VW bug on the second floor of the parking garage. With a small smile as she tucked a strand of her wavy brown hair behind her ear, she got in the vehicle and locked the doors. "I'm on my way. I love you." She told him, the soft sound of his chuckling music to her ears.

"Yeah yeah, love you too." He joked, smirking to himself as he could practically hear her eye roll. With that, he hung up and placed the phone back on its base before returning to his most likely ruined dinner.

"Dean Winchester?" A voice asked from behind him right as he picked up a serving spoon.

Dean spun around, eyes wide in shock as he took in a tall muscular man in front of him that slightly resembled a male model. "Who the hell are you? Get out!" He snapped, his eyes darting to his still dead bolted door in confusion.

"I'm lookin' for that girlfriend of yours. Is she home?" The stranger asked, his voice low and gruff as he took a threatening step forward.

Dean backed up to where he was up against the kitchen counter, the handle of a skillet jabbing into his lower back. "She's- she's out of town." He lied, praying to God Kate got held up in traffic.

"Now Dean-o, I _know_ that's not true. Will she be home soon or do we have some time to kill?" He asked, a threat underlying his words.

Dean shook his head as anger started to bubble in his gut. "She's staying late at the office, won't be back for a couple of hours." He said with enough confidence that the stranger believed him.

The man shrugged, not seeming too sad about it. "Oh well, guess I'll have to go with Plan B." He said vaguely, sending Dean an almost hungry look.

"Which is?" Dean forced out, trying not to panic. He had never been in a situation like this before, the only fighting he had done was boxing and he only did that for two years after he turned sixteen.

"You." The man suddenly lunged forward, going to grab his arm but luckily he pivoted out of the way before he could grab him, causing the stranger to slam into the cabinets. Dean had barely made it four steps away from his attacker before he was tackled from behind, his head banging painfully against the hardwood floor. The stranger flipped him over and straddled him, Dean's back now touching the ground as he groaned in pain and his vision blackened at the edges.

Dean couldn't explain it, but it felt as if a semi-truck was holding him down as the man grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head with one meaty hand, the grip tight enough to cause a loud crack to be heard. Dean let out a pained yelp as the stranger reached into his back pocket for a zip tie with his free hand. He tried his hardest to wiggle his way free, but his hardest wasn't good enough. As his attacker quickly and effectively bound his wrists, the man leaned down and whispered menacingly with pitch black eyes. "So far, I'm loving Plan B."

With as much malice as he could muster, Dean spit into the man's face, causing him to roar with rage. The stranger's large fist connected with Dean's face, a snap reverberating off the walls as blood gushed from his nostrils onto the floor.

Dean continued to try to get away from his attacker as his wrists and his now broken nose throbbed but his strength was no match for the large man's. His gaze locked with now obsidian orbs that were staring at him as he felt his heart in his throat. "What- what are you?" He questioned, disgust and fear lacing his words.

The man looked at him with puzzled curiosity and scrunched brows before he heard the faint sound of a key scraping in a lock.

Before Dean could even make a sound, they were gone.

…

Kate couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips as she approached her and Dean's apartment door, the sweet aroma of burnt food drifting into the hallway.

She fiddled with her keys, pulling them out and shoving them into the lock and turning. She budged past the resistance the lock always gave her and was relieved when the tiny click of the door becoming unlocked sounded.

With eagerness to see her boyfriend and the mess he made for dinner, she opened the door and walked in only to stop dead in her tracks, her keys and purse falling to the floor.

She took in the scene before her as she felt dread overwhelm her. Their cupboard door was hanging off its hinges and there was a puddle of blood on the ground in the middle of the kitchen.

Kate looked around, eyeing the still hot oven that hadn't gotten turned off and the food that was left haphazardly on top of it. She took a step forward as tears started to form in her eyes before finally finding the motivation to speak. "Dean…?" She whispered, her voice breaking at the end.

"Dean!" She yelled, rapidly growing anxious. She took off to their bedroom, frantically looking around as she searched for her boyfriend, praying to whatever god that might be listening to have him be safe.

She couldn't help the steady stream of tears that ran down her cheeks as she checked all the rooms, coming full circle back to the kitchen where she found something that made her heart stop.

A couple feet away from the pool of crimson, Kate crouched down and examined a mound of yellow powder that she could only assume was one thing.

Sulfur.

 _This can't be happening._

The brunette retrieved her purse and dug her phone out with shaky hands, barely composing herself enough to dial Dean's phone number. She crossed her fingers, finding the ability to breathe growing harder as it began to ring and ring and ring…

 _"This is Dean, you know what to do."_

Kate leaned against the wall and slid down to where she was on her butt, resting her head back as she opened her contact list and scrolled down to her last resort before hitting the send button.

"Willis, FBI."

Kate squeezed her eyes shut as she felt extremely thankful he had picked up. She took a moment to calm herself and after swallowing hard, she answered with a shuddering sigh. "Bobby, I need your help."

….

Dean was brought back to consciousness when a bucket of ice cold water was thrown at him, the liquid causing his whole body to shake as he was drenched to the bone. He pried his eyes open, immediately regretting waking up when the blinding pain of his head, nose and wrists coursed through him. He had dried blood coming from a cut on his forehead and his nose along with a nasty shade of blue bruise forming on his cheek bone.

Dean glanced up, scowling at the chains that bound his wrists and then attached to the ceiling, his now bare feet barely touching the ground. He noted that he was stripped down to just his jeans and his thin black t-shirt, the water chilling his torso.

He finally noticed the two people standing in front of him, one of which he remembers from attacking him. The other was younger, medium built, about Dean's height with shaggy dirty blond hair and a shit-eating grin plastered to his face.

"Listen, if it's money you want-" Dean began, only to be cut off by malicious laughter from the man who had invaded his apartment.

The male model shook his head before glancing at the younger one next to him. "We don't want your money." He said condescendingly with pitch black eyes.

"Xavier, lay off. It's not his fault he doesn't know anything about demons or the supernatural." The blonde man fake reprimanded when he saw Dean's fists clench at Xavier's obsidian glare. "I gotta admit," He continued, taking a step forward to study their captive closer. "I can't believe Kate landed herself someone normal. Hunters tend to cling to each other for emotional support."

Dean's brows scrunched together. "Kate doesn't hunt." He said innocently, completely confused.

"I told you, Ash. He doesn't know a thing." Xavier pointed out when the blonde man turned around and tried to keep himself from laughing.

"God damn…" Ash said almost appreciatively before he chuckled and threw his arms out to the side. "Well, Dean Winchester, welcome to the life."

"What do you want?" Dean growled, as he tried to ignore the snide comments from the two supposed demons in front of him.

Xavier stepped forward, resting a hand on the trapped man's shoulder. "We want a little payback. See, the Lavalette's really fucked our family over. It's only fair we do the same to theirs."

"Would either of you two asshats care to explain _anything_?" Dean asked, his patience beginning to dwindle as his arms started to grow numb.

"Don't worry, Dean-o. Kate will be here soon enough to explain everything." Ash reassured, patting their captive's cheek harshly before turning to walk away.

Dean's blood ran cold as his need to protect Kate skyrocketed. "Wait! You can't leave me here! I'll do anything you want!" He pleaded, his last bit of hope being squashed when the door slammed shut.

….

"Dammit Kate…" Bobby said over the line, taking off his worn baseball cap and running his free hand through his slowly receding hairline before replacing it. "Where are you? I'm on my way." He told her, the sound of a chair scraping against tile being heard.

Kate felt instant relief at the words of the old hunter she had known for years. Hell, he'd practically raised her before and especially after her mom died when she was sixteen and her dad went missing. When her brother, Tyler, wanted to go out on a hunt alone, he'd dump her at Bobby's for a week or two and she had to admit, it was much better with the crotchety old man than it was with her brother sometimes. Before that, her parents would drop Kate and her brother off there whenever they thought a hunt was too dangerous.

Kate continued to sit on the floor, feeling empty as she waited for Bobby to show up.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there but when she felt a warm comforting hand on her shoulder, she almost jumped out of her skin.

"Woah, easy. Just me." Bobby soothed, taking a look around the kitchen to see what they had to work with. "Do you know who could've taken him?" He asked, repeating it louder when she didn't respond the first time.

She cleared her throat and stood, trying to compose herself as she fixed her hair that had become a mess from how many times she had run her hands through it. "I- I have some idea…" She admitted as she bit at her lip.

"Okay…" Bobby said, making sure to keep his tone from sounding sarcastic. "Care to share with the class?"

"Uh, well Ty left me a voicemail the other day, saying he had demons on his tail and when I called back he didn't answer and now this…" She paused, blinking hard in order to keep herself under control. "I can't help but think it's the Carter family." She said regrettably. The Lavalette's and the Carter's have never gotten along and the amount of history between the family of hunters and the family of demons was enough to make Kate suspicious of them.

"You think Julian is gettin' revenge?" The elder hunter asked, seeming unsure.

Kate just nodded as her eyes locked on something on the counter she was just now finding. She shuffled forward, a fresh set of tears welling in her eyes as her slim fingers wrapped around a small black box.

Bobby walked up to her and calmly pried it from her hands, knowing that whatever was in it, was just going to make Kate feel worse.

The brunette's head snapped to the living room when she heard the classic rock song that was Dean's ringtone. She rushed over and crouched on the floor, reaching underneath the couch and pulling out his cell phone. She figured she must not have heard it earlier when she had called him because she had been too caught up in hoping Dean would answer.

"Bobby, I can't tell him." Kate insisted, showing the caller ID to the older hunter when she rejoined him in the kitchen. "You have to do it."

"I've only met him a couple times!" Bobby reminded her, trying to refuse the small device that Kate was shoving into his hands. With a sigh of frustration, he took the phone and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Who is this?" A male's voice answered on the other end, being able to tell it wasn't Dean who picked up.

"Bobby Singer. I'm a friend of Kate's." He explained, giving her an irritated look when she sent him an apologetic shrug.

"Where's Kate? Is everything okay? Can I talk to my brother please?" The voice replied. By his tone, Bobby could tell that he was in no mood to play games.

With raised brows, he looked towards Kate as if to ask permission to tell the man on the other end what was really going on. She nodded remorsefully, wishing she would've had the guts to do this herself.

"I'm gonna need you to get here as fast as you can, Sam."

 _…._

Sam found himself barreling down the stairs of the two-story townhouse he shared with his girlfriend, taking them two at a time as he felt his heart pounding in his chest. He had just hung up with Bobby Singer and he could tell that something had to be wrong with his brother.

He rushed to the kitchen and begun to rifle through one of the drawers, trying to find the address of Dean's apartment. He hastily pulled out a sheet of paper, feeling relieved when he found his brother's address scrawled in his messy handwriting. Sam knew he was going to have to take a plane otherwise it would take too long and obviously, he didn't have much time.

"Sam? Is everything okay?"

The youngest Winchester's head shot up, his gaze finding his girlfriend, Jessica, who was leaning against the doorframe, watching him with concern.

"Yeah, uh I just- I'm gonna go visit Dean." He stated as he stuffed the slip of paper into his deep front pocket and grabbed his car keys.

Jess seemed puzzled as she closed the distance between them. "What happened? You don't even have a bag." She pointed out, seeming skeptical of her boyfriend's excuse.

Sam sighed, realizing he might as well tell the truth. "I don't know what happened. I just know that I have to go see my brother." He paused, watching his girlfriend look like she wanted to say something. "Alone." He added and saw Jess's face fall before it became a mask.

"I understand. Just, pack some clothes? And call me when you get there? Okay?" She requested, being more understanding then the youngest Winchester had been expecting.

With a quick nod, Sam ran back upstairs and quickly packed a duffel bag stuffed with clothes before heading outside to his car.

….

 **TBC**

 **Well hello! Thanks for reading. If you read this far, hopefully it means your interest was at least somewhat peaked. If it was, get ready. You're in for a whirlwind. I've written roughly half of this fic so far and plan to update it every Wednesday. For those of you who have read my other stories, yes, scheduled updates that will be happening! Yay for schedules! Don't worry, any and all questions will be answered. I hope you're willing to stick with me. Be sure to leave me a review to let me know your thoughts, first chapters are always nerve-wrecking for me. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO: The One Where Some Questions Are Answered**

"Can't we just kill him?"

Ash rolled his eyes as he hopped on a desk, the metal groaning in protest as he landed heavily on top of it. "You know we can't do that. Dad wants him alive to make sure she'll come." He reminded his older sister, watching as she flicked her curly blonde hair over her shoulder.

"I'm sure we could make it seem like he's still alive until she gets here." The female demon tried to persuade her two brothers who were standing in the abandoned office with her, yet another room that was in the warehouse they decided to keep Dean Winchester at.

"Caroline, we're not killing him." Xavier snapped, having enough of the back and forth between his two younger siblings.

With a huff of annoyance, Caroline plopped herself down in a plush chair and crossed her legs before eyeing the package that was sitting on the desk next to Ash's ass. "When are we sending that?" She asked, directing her question towards her older brother.

Xavier glanced at it lazily, raising one shoulder in a half-shrug. "Whenever Dad says to. He said we should at least give her a day so she can start panicking." The demon ended with a smirk before adding, "Besides, the longer we can draw this out, the more desperate she'll be to get him back safely."

"We really think Kate's just gonna come barging through those doors once we call?" Ash asked pessimistically. "He's a mechanic for fuck's sake. How much can he mean to a hunter?"

Caroline arched one perfect brow towards her older brother, waiting for him to answer. After clearing his throat, Xavier did. "After all the hours I had to spend watching those two be 'I wanna puke' happy together, trust me, I know she'll come." He stated confidently, remembering full well how he watched Dean go and buy a wedding ring and how he saw Kate spend hours on the phone talking nonstop about the man she loved. There wasn't a doubt in the demon's mind that those two wouldn't go to the edge of the Earth for each other.

"Whatever you say, I'm still all for killing him." Caroline pointed out, winking at Xavier when he growled at her.

….

Kate jumped out of her state of nervously tapping her finger on her lap when there was three sharp knocks at the door. After giving Bobby a worried glance, he grumbled unhappily before answering the persistent knocker.

"Sam, nice to-" Bobby barely got out before he was barreling into the room.

When he finally spotted Kate who joined them in the kitchen, Sam began bouncing questions off of them. "Where's Dean? What happened? _Why is there blood on the floor?"_ He barked the last question when he glanced around and saw the decent sized puddle of scarlet they had neglected to clean up.

Kate approached Sam and put a comforting hand on his arm. "Please, just sit, okay? I'll explain everything."

After a moment of hesitation, Sam followed her and Bobby into the living room, snagging a seat on the couch while Kate and Bobby each took a seat in two large padded chairs that were situated across from where Sam was.

"Wait until I'm finished before you say anything." Kate stated, not wanting to be interrupted as she tried to explain all of this. "I don't know how to tell you this… but there are monsters in this world, Sam." She said slowly, noticing his ' _I don't follow'_ look. "I'm talking vampires, werewolves and… demons." The brunette worried at her lip, glancing at Bobby for help but he just nodded, silently telling her she was doing great. "Two days ago my brother left this message on my cell."

Sam looked like he was completely and utterly confused as Kate pulled out her phone, clicked a few buttons, and then set it on the table that was between the two sets of seating arrangements.

 _"Hey Kate. It's Ty."_

 _"Uh- listen. I know you said you were just strictly only giving out cases but…"_

There was a slight pause and the sound of a door slamming shut as a set of keys rustled.

 _"I got some demons on my trail and… there's a lot of them Katie…"_

The man stopped for a second to clear his throat, this time a car being started was heard over the line.

 _"Just, call me back, okay? I could really use some help."_

The connection ended with a beep, Kate taking her phone and shoving it back into her pocket. "I've called my brother multiple times since he left that message and he hasn't answered. I'm afraid what took Tyler… took Dean too."

"What do you mean? Dean was kidnapped?" Sam asked, sounding frantic before he realized he had interrupted. With an apologetic glance, he allowed Kate to continue.

"There's a family of demons, the Carter's, and for decades my family and theirs has had their differences." She explained, gesturing with her arms while she spoke. "The feud all started when I was fourteen and my family was out on a hunt."

 _Grand Rapids Michigan, 2006._

 _"Miranda, you and Kate should stay in the car."_

 _The Lavalette family of hunters was just outside of what should have been a deserted warehouse but was instead a warehouse full of an unknown number of demons._

 _Kate and Tyler watched their parents begin to argue from the backseat silently. They were used to the bickering at this point because it happened every single time they went out on a hunt and every single time…_

 _"I don't know how many more times I can tell you this, Paul. I'm a grown-up who can make her own decisions and Kate's a damn good hunter for her age. We will be fine." Miranda said with conviction right before she got out of the car. "Come on kids."_

 _Paul grumbled irritably before getting out of the car and joining his family at the trunk, quickly grabbing his wife by the waist and pulling her in for a kiss. "I love you." He whispered, the couple having a tradition to never go into a hunt mad at each other._

 _She said it back to him, patting his arm lovingly before turning her gaze to the trunk. As Tyler, who was only sixteen at the time, tucked his gun into his waistband, Kate was busy arming herself with a paint stick for hasty devil traps and a flask full of holy water._

 _"Come on." Paul ordered, his voice gruff as he started making his way to the warehouse._

 _The kids followed after their parents, the pre-hunt nerves beginning to kick in as they arrived at the entrance. Tyler gave his sister's hand a reassuring squeeze before turning towards his father. With a quick nod to make sure everyone was ready, Paul kicked open the door._

 _Tyler and Miranda both pulled out flashlights and shined them around the dimly lit, huge open space they had walked into._

 _"Look at what we've got here."_

 _The group of four all spun to face the middle of the room where two figures had appeared, a man and a woman, as the lights came on to full brightness._

 _"Julian, those wouldn't be hunters, would it?" A curvy blonde woman purred, her eyes flashing black as a cruel smile tugged at her lips. "Surely they aren't this stupid."_

 _"Easy dear, maybe they're just here to chat." The tall, dark haired, muscular man soothed, adjusting his crisp suit jacket._

 _Paul let out a harsh laugh as he raised his .45, his grip steady. "We don't talk with your kind."_

 _The woman turned to Julian, feigning offense. "Are you going to let them talk to us like that?" She asked, crossing her arms._

 _"Peyton, there's four of them and only two of us. Don't you think we should surrender?" He fired back, his tone laced with sarcasm before turning his dark gaze to the four hunters by the door. "Oh, my mistake._ _ **Three**_ _of us."_

 _Kate spun around only to find herself getting punched in the face, the fourteen-year old's cheek pulsing with pain as the newcomer grabbed her and wrapped his arm around her throat._

 _Paul kept his gun trained on Julian while Miranda pulled out a knife and aimed it at Peyton. Tyler pointed his handgun at the stranger holding his sister in a chokehold, panic starting to rise._

 _"Let her go." Tyler growled, his eyes locking with the man in front of him as his need to protect his baby sister fueled his actions._

 _"Jake, careful. Don't kill her." Julian paused before shrugging. "Yet."_

 _Miranda's blade glistened as she adjusted her grip, the idea of anyone hurting her daughter causing her maternal instincts to kick in._

 _Before she could do anything, everyone was shocked to silence as a gun shot rang out and all eyes landed on Tyler who stood tall, his lips twitching in anger. Kate maneuvered herself from Jake's grasp and turned around, eyeing the bullet that was lodged in his head with interest._

 _"What did you do?" The demon hissed, trying to step forward but finding himself firmly stuck to the floor._

 _Tyler looked smug as he tossed an extra bullet at Jake who caught it with ease, eyes becoming enveloped with darkness when he examined it. "Devil's trap."_

 _Seeing an opportunity, Paul lunged forward at Julian, squeezing his trigger but watched as the bullet got stuck in the wall._

 _"Kate!" Miranda yelled, tossing a thin, silver blade from her waistband to her daughter._

 _Without knowing what else to do, Kate hastily jammed the knife up through Jake's throat._

 _"_ _ **NO!"**_ _Peyton screamed as she watched her son's skeleton shine with orange, looking like an x-ray right before he fell to the ground._

 _Not missing a beat, Miranda took her shot with her spare blade that had sigils engraved into it and dove towards Peyton, tackling her to the ground._

 _Tyler and Kate didn't know who to help as they watched their father struggling with Julian and their mother straddling Peyton._

 _A silent communication took place between the two and the pair split in sync, the brother and sister taking off to help each of their parents._

 _Kate grabbed a hold of Julian's arm as he brought it back to land another harsh hit to her father's face. He instantly retaliated by swinging his body, his fist colliding with her temple. Kate's vision blurred from the impact, causing her to stagger back a bit. Just when Julian went in for another blow, Peyton let out a piercing screech._

 _Tyler had just made it to his mother when Miranda lifted her arm up and then forcefully stabbed her knife into Peyton's chest._

 _The brunette hauled his mother away as the demon died, a blood-curdling scream ringing off the walls._

 _Julian stopped his attack on Paul and backed up as the four hunters turned towards him._

 _His solid black orbs were trained on Miranda and then drifted to Kate, a threat and a promise evident in those obsidian depths. "You will pay for that." He spat right before he disappeared._

"After that," Kate continued, trying to ignore the completely freaked out look Sam was wearing. "Things just grew more and more complicated…" She paused, flashbacks of the dark months after her mother had died coming to light. "Julian killed my mother when I was sixteen, my father disappeared about a month after, and ever since then I've just been waiting for Julian to come after me…"

"Which is why we think it was the Carter family that took Dean and Tyler." Bobby chimed in, thinking Kate had talked enough. She gave him a grateful look which he replied to with a nod. "Sam, do you have any questions?"

Sam looked absolutely bewildered as he sat on the couch, running a shaky hand through his shoulder length hair. "It's just… a lot to process." He managed to get out, not knowing what else to say. On one hand, this was Kate he was talking to. He had known her for three years, would she really lie to him about something this big? But on the other hand, this was totally crazy. Finally, even though he felt like he was going to lose it, he spoke. "I believe you."

Bobby and Kate stared at him with wide eyes and open mouths. Kate composed herself first, laughing nervously. "Well, that's the best news I've heard all day." She said, shaking her head.

Bobby promptly checked his watch before he looked at Kate sternly. "It's late. You two should get some rest before we do anything." He stated, sounding like a parent disciplining his children.

Kate wanted to protest but she knew he was right. With a solemn nod, she directed Sam to the spare bedroom before heading into the room Dean and her shared for what was sure to be a restless night of sleep.

….

Dean squeezed his eyes shut as light flooded the room, a lone figure opening the door and coming in.

"Morning, sleeping beauty." Ash quipped, walking over to their captive and unlocking the shackles around his wrist.

Dean fell to the floor, not expecting the sudden release. He rubbed at his wrists gingerly, his right one still broken from his altercation with Xavier. The mechanic glanced up sheepishly at the demon, wondering what the hell was coming.

"Xavier told me that you can't fight worth shit." He stated, crossing his arms. "Get up." He ordered, his tone threatening but with no real malice behind it. Dean swallowed but obliged, cringing as his aching muscles protested. "Now," Ash continued, putting his fists up in a defensive gesture as he cracked a smile. "Punch me."

Dean's eyes widened in astonishment before he scrunched his brows in confusion. "What- what are you talking about?"

"If you can beat me in a fight, I'll let you go." Ash offered, an arrogant grin pulling at his lips.

"You're lying." Dean said with confidence, not willing to trust anything this _monster_ had to say.

He chuckled and shrugged. "You caught me. But, I am willing to teach you how to at least defend yourself." He said, tilting his head with amusement. "Come on, humor me."

With hesitation, Dean brought his hands up in an offensive gesture as he tried to recall what he had learned from boxing. Leading with his right foot, he lashed out with his left hand only to have his fist be caught and then his arm twisted behind his back. He yelped in pain, trying to free himself.

"That's your problem. You're too slow and predictable." Ash said, his mouth right by Dean's ear. "Fight me like you mean it. Like I'm about to go get that pretty little girlfriend of yours-"

He was cut off by Dean slamming his head back, making contact with his nose.

Ash instantly released him, cupping his now bleeding nose as a shit-eating grin formed on his face. "There we go. Now we're getting somewhere."

Dean let out a battle cry and charged forward, aiming to land a blow to Ash's face but the demon effectively blocked it.

Dean muttered in irritation as he begun circling Ash, looking for an opening.

"Come on, put some effort into it!" He demanded right before he disappeared.

"What the…" Dean looked around, feeling helpless when all of a sudden he was shoved from behind and was sent sprawling on the floor.

"Always watch your back, especially when fighting demons." Ash reminded, walking over to their captive and looking down at him with pity. "Your lack of technique, well, it makes me sad-"

He didn't have time to finish as Dean swept his legs and knocked Ash flat on his ass who then began to laugh. "That's the spirit!"

Dean went in for another hit only to find he was now looking at an empty floor. He stood up and scanned the room, finding Ash standing by the chains that were still hanging from the ceiling. "I think that's enough for now." He said, a hidden meaning in his words.

Dean was still confused what exactly had happened but he cleared his throat as he walked over to where Ash was pulling down the chains and reattaching them to hooks on the floor so he would at least be a little more comfortable. "I don't get it, what was the point of this?"

The demon sighed after finishing his task, turning towards Dean when he was done. "My family has this plan that Kate will show up and they'll be able to capture her. Now, if I know Kate, and I do, she won't go down without a fight." He paused, looking towards the door to make sure they were still alone. "She'll show up and find a way to free you but then have to deal with my family and I. This way, at least she'll have a little help." He said, smirking at Dean who still seemed perplexed. "Don't pull a muscle, Winchester." He joked, grabbing the bindings off the floor and putting them around his wrists. "If you were smart, you wouldn't mention this to anyone."

He didn't even get a chance to respond to the demon before he was walking out the door.

….

"Mind if I borrow this?" Xavier asked as he took a small knife from his waistband and used it to cut off a colored bracelet from their other captive's wrist.

"Give that back!" The brown-haired man roared, yanking on his shackles that attached him to the ceiling.

"I see you have your sister's temper." The demon noted with a disapproving tone as he placed both the knife and bracelet in his pocket. "Really, Tyler. Anger isn't a good color on you."

Tyler sneered at the demon mocking him. "You'll all pay for this. Kate will make sure of it!" He yelled to Xavier's back as he made his way to the door.

The demon guffawed as he turned around and eyed Tyler with sympathy. "I'm afraid she'll be too dead to do that."

"If you touch her, it'll be the last thing you do!" He spat with confidence.

Xavier scoffed as he opened the door. "You let me know when she gets here and we'll see."

…

It was the day after Sam had arrived, which made it three days after Dean had disappeared, that they finally had a lead. Although, Kate wasn't sure whether she was happy about it or even more worried.

"Kate, Sam. You might want to get in here." Bobby yelled from the kitchen.

Kate sprinted from her bedroom, wearing one of Dean's ACDC shirts and pajama shorts. Sam followed shortly behind in dark blue sweatpants and a plain grey t-shirt.

Bobby held up a small package toward Kate with a thin smile. "This just arrived. There's no return address." He stated before handing it over to the brunette.

Kate looked at Sam as she chewed at her lip before she ripped open the package and lost the ability to breathe.

He peaked over her shoulder, grabbing the box from her when she whispered, "Oh god…" and almost dropped it. Sam glanced inside and pulled out a necklace with a charm hanging from it and a thread bracelet.

"What are those?" Bobby asked, tilting his head as he took the objects.

"The necklace is Dean's. I gave it to him for Christmas when we were kids." Sam explained slowly, wrapping his head around the fact that somebody had sent this to them for a reason. "I don't know about the bracelet though."

"It's Tyler's… I made it for him for his birthday like ten years ago and he still wears it." Kate said sadly, wiping a shaky hand down her face. "What does this mean?"

"Guys, there's more." Sam said reluctantly as he pulled out a piece of paper.

The pair of hunters both looked at it, their hearts sinking as they read the six words that were scrawled in cursive writing.

 _Next it will be an ear._

"There's an address at the bottom." Bobby pointed out, his brows knitting together in thought. "Any idea where this is?" He questioned, holding up the note.

Kate examined it and her eyes widened in realization. "It's a warehouse. To be exact, that's the warehouse where Jake and Peyton Carter died."

Bobby cursed under his breath. Although he had a pretty good idea that it had to be the family of demon's that took Tyler and Dean, a small part of him was hoping it wouldn't be.

"Let's go get them back." Sam stated with determination, surprising both the hunter's with his willingness to help with their crazy lives.

….

 **TBC**

Hey guys, thanks for those that reviewed, favorited, and followed. Ya'll rock. Please leave me another review, I thrive off of them. Hope you enjoyed.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE: The One With The Rescue Mission**

"Ash, have you seen the package we were gonna send?" Xavier asked with urgency, shoving his cell phone back in his pocket as he entered the office where his brother was sitting on the desk.

Ash smiled a toothy grin, hopping off the metal surface. "Put it in the mail this morning. Rush delivery. You're welcome." He slapped his older brother's shoulder, about to walk out, when Xavier grabbed the back of his grey t-shirt collar and yanked.

"You _sent_ it?" He growled, turning Ash around so he was forced to look at him. "Dad just called and told us to wait another week!"

Ash scoffed with disbelief. "He wants to wait another week to get his revenge?" When he saw Xavier's stern look he held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Look, I'm sorry. I figured he would want to get this over with as soon as possible." He shrugged casually, trying to write it off as no big deal.

"I'm not taking the blame for this. Dad's gonna kill you." Xavier said unsympathetically, shaking his head. "He already hates you for getting Mom and Jake killed and now you messed up his chance to make Kate pay for what she did?" He smiled bitterly. "I hope he kills you quickly."

"Mom and Jake weren't my fault!" Ash yelled angrily, not wanting to remember that dreadful day.

 _"Ash, as soon as you see Jake grab the girl, you come out and take care of the brother." Julian reiterated, having gone over this with his son about ten times as they waited patiently in the warehouse._

 _Ash nodded, giving his father a reassuring look. "I got it, Dad."_

 _With a thin-lipped smile, Julian left his son in a side room that branched off of the main area they'd be in._

 _Ash stood there impatiently, eventually beginning to whistle and to tap his feet. He didn't even notice when the window in the room he was in was slid open and a slim figure climbed in._

 _"Don't move." A voice ordered as they silently spread out a rug, straightening when the demon turned around slowly._

 _"Kate Lavalette. What a pleasure." He quipped, a cruel smirk tugging at his lips as he eyed her up and down appreciatively._

 _She arched a brow, seeming impressed he knew who she was. "Ash Carter. Too bad I can't say the same."_

 _He chuckled before unknowingly taking a step right into the devil's trap that was painted on the underside of the rug she had placed. "You've got balls coming in here by yourself."_

 _"I don't need balls to place a quick trap." She said with pride right as Ash realized his mistake and brought hate-filled black eyes to look at her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have the rest of your family to take care of." Kate gave a little wave to the fuming demon right before climbing out the window to meet her family back at the car._

"If I were you, I'd just hope this all works out." Xavier said with a threat evident in his words before leaving the office.

….

Kate bounced her leg anxiously as she rode shotgun with Sam driving her red bug. He had insisted to drive since he thought she was too amped up to do it safely.

"So, do you still hunt?" Sam asked suddenly to try to make conversation after they had been riding in silence for an hour. He glanced in the rearview mirror, making sure that Bobby was still following them in his truck.

Kate shook her head, picking absently at one of the holes in her jeans. "No, I work at the state FBI headquarters and if I see a case that seems like it has to do with anything supernatural, I pass it on to Bobby who gives it to another hunter." She explained, seeing Sam nod out of the corner of her eye. "This is a lot, isn't it?" She wondered gently, knowing he must be beginning to feel overwhelmed.

He sighed deeply, smiling slightly. "If it had been coming from anyone else besides my brother's girlfriend, I probably wouldn't have believed it." He said, glancing at Kate who rolled her eyes. "But uh… yeah. It is a lot. I mean, I'm just worried I'll mess something up once we get there." He confessed, keeping his eyes trained on the road.

Kate grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, let's get you educated!"

….

"Come on, princess. Don't make me lick your face." Ash threatened as he stood over Dean's sleeping form that was slouched against the cement wall when it was obvious nudging him with his foot wasn't doing anything. "Dammit, come on!" He encouraged before slapping him across the face.

Dean's head snapped to the right as his eyes flew open, a disgruntled look on his features before he focused his gaze on the demon. "What the hell?"

"Listen, your girlfriend is going to be here soon." Ash said urgently, taking a small pocket knife from his jeans and shoving it into the wide-eyed man's hand as he ignored his questions. "Just, pay attention. I'll make sure Kate gets to her brother first. You need to free yourself and then get yourself across the hall, understand?" He stated slowly to make sure Dean could process it.

"Why can't you just free me now?" He asked, seeming suspicious of the demon's intentions. "Wait, they took Tyler?"

Ash growled with aggravation, not having the time to explain. "Yes and because someone might be coming in to check on you and we can't risk them knowing about my involvement."

Although Dean was still a little hazy on the details and why Ash was helping him, he nodded and put the blade in his front pocket.

"Alright, I'll knock on the door when Kate has Tyler." With that, Ash ran from the room, silently hoping everything went according to plan.

….

Kate shut her car door after getting out, meeting Sam at the trunk of her Bug. She lifted it open and pulled up the floor, revealing her impressive collection of any weapon a hunter could need.

"Who _are_ you?" Sam asked incredulously as he was passed a handgun loaded with devil's trap bullets and a flask of holy water.

Kate smirked, mischief flashing in her gaze as she grabbed her own gun and tucked it in her waistband before retrieving a long silver blade that had been her mother's.

"You kids ready?" Bobby asked as he approached them, similarly armed.

With curt nods, the group began the walk to the warehouse. They had parked a little way away as to not tip them off, but Kate begun to regret it once she realized they wouldn't be having any quick getaways.

A few minutes later, they were standing outside the large building, Kate getting a strong déjà vu feeling.

"Follow me, I know a better way to get in." She instructed as she led them to the side of the warehouse, coming to a stop under some large window a couple feet off the ground.

The hunter's feet landed on the floor of the small office noiselessly after climbing in, unlike Sam who ended up sounding like an adult elephant.

"Sam, just a word of the wise," Kate began in a hushed whisper. "This whole hunting thing only works well if you're quiet."

He gave her an apologetic smile just as Bobby joined them, the group collectively moving toward the door.

With a look to make sure everyone was ready, Kate opened up the door and hurried in the hallway, pointing her gun in both directions to make sure the coast was clear.

Kate motioned for the boys to follow her down the corridor, pausing mid-step when she spotted someone walking into a room at the end of the hall.

….

"Follow me, I know a better way to get in."

Ash took a deep breath as he watched Kate and her two friends make their way along the side of the building, coming out from behind a tree once they were out of sight. With a blink, he vanished and appeared in the warehouse, right outside of the room they were keeping Tyler in.

The demon waited a few minutes and the second he heard the door opening at the other end of the hall he went into action. He hesitated long enough to make sure the group of three would see him go in the room before he entered.

"What do you want?" Tyler spat, rustling his chains as he yanked on them in a desperate attempt to get free.

He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Just thought you would want to know your little sis is here. Don't worry, she'll be in to visit soon enough." He added the last bit when he saw Tyler's face drop with utter horror.

"If you touch her-" He began, only to be cut off.

Ash waved a hand dismissively, not in the mood for a protective older brother talk. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't waste your breath." With a quick wink, he was gone.

Tyler barely had time to process anything before the door was slowly creaked open.

…...

Dean felt on edge as he eagerly awaited Ash's signal. He sat there in the dark room, his hand draped on his left front pocket, when the door opened.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure." A blonde with curly hair purred as she walked over to him, cruelty flashing in her eyes. "I'm Caroline."

"If you're another demon, bite me." He spat harshly, regretting it when she grasped his throat and pressed him up against the wall.

"I would show me some respect." She said a little too sweetly as she tried to keep her composure, ignoring Dean's fingernails that were scratching at her wrists. "Especially since I was pushing to have you killed before Kate got here but unfortunately, my brothers didn't feel the same way." She hissed, releasing him with a shove.

"You guys honestly think you can get the better of Kate?" Dean asked tauntingly. His throat was throbbing with pain as he tried to stall for time so he could formulate a plan, hoping to whatever God was listening that his girlfriend was safe.

Caroline lifted one shoulder lazily as she crouched in front of him. "Kate killed my brother, Miranda killed my mother, trust me when I say, anything is possible if you've got enough motivation." The demon said darkly before her eyes roamed up and down him with a suggestive look in her eyes.

"You know," She whispered, her lips grazing his ear as she leaned in close. "I bet you're dying to get back at Kate for lying to you. I know you're probably hurting."

"You don't know anything about me." Dean snapped as he sat helplessly while Caroline straddled him.

She raised a brow with an amused smirk. "Oh, I don't?" She pursed her lips in thought for a second before draping her arms over his shoulders. "Mommy died when you were four due to a car accident and Father dearest bit it because of cancer five years ago. You and Kate met three years after that, quickly fell in love, and… here we are." Caroline turned her head to the door when there was a loud knock, her brows scrunching in confusion. When she returned her attention to Dean, she saw a hint of realization and worry in his features. "Something wrong?"

Instead of responding, Dean just stared at her in silent defiance, not willing to answer the demon on top of him.

"Caroline, she's across the hall. Grab him and let's go." Xavier insisted after he barged in the room, eyes pitch black.

A malicious grin tugged at Caroline's lips as she took out a key from her pocket and unlocked his bindings, not prepared in the slightest for any complications while she stood up.

Seizing his opportunity, Dean straightened and quickly lashed out with his left hand, landing a hit to her nose. Caroline shrieked and stumbled back but composed herself much faster than Dean would've liked.

She lunged and latched on to his still broken right wrist and twisted it behind his back, earning a small yelp from their captive. "It's a shame we were interrupted." She whispered in his ear, chuckling softly.

Dean's lips twitched in anger as Xavier approached them, taking a piece of cloth from his pocket. "You two are going to wait in the hallway, nice and quiet." He stated, acting as if the choice was up to them before he gagged him. Dean tugged at Caroline's hold but stopped when she yanked on his wrist, causing sharp pains to shoot up his arm.

"Come on, get ready." Xavier ordered before they all went out in the hallway, Dean being pushed along by Caroline who still had his arm twisted behind his back.

….

Kate, Bobby and Sam all rushed down the hallway where they just saw a familiar looking blonde go into a room. Being sure to not waste any more time, Kate grabbed the door handle and pushed it open slowly.

Instant relief flooded her features when she saw the relatively whole shape of her brother. Besides a nasty black eye and a split lip, he looked to be unharmed. She rushed over and dropped her blade in order to begin to undo his bindings, making sure to keep her emotions under wraps as she did so. After all, they still had a job to do.

"Katie, you can't be here." Tyler warned, his voice desperate as he watched his little sister.

She looked at him in disbelief before moving to the other side to finish freeing him. "If you honestly thought I wouldn't come then you're more stupid than I thought."

Once she had finished, Tyler stretched out his arms as he tried to regain feeling in them before eyeing the pair by the door. "Bobby Singer?" He asked, a lop-sided grin forming on his face as he walked over and gave him a hug.

"Good to see you, boy." Bobby greeted gruffly before pulling away.

"Have we met?" Tyler asked, glancing over at the floppy-haired giant next to him.

Sam shifted almost uncomfortably before he cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah, once. I'm Sam… Dean's brother." He clarified when just his name didn't clear up the confusion on the other man's face.

Tyler's jaw clenched at the mention of Dean. "And where is he?" He asked, malice lacing his words.

"Ty, they grabbed him too." Kate explained, giving him a glare filled with disappointment. She wasn't in the mood to deal with another one of her brother's lectures about how Dean wasn't good enough for her.

"Well isn't this just cute."

The group of four all spun towards the door, grips tightening on their weapons as Xavier walked in the room. Kate looked panicked as she remembered her blade was a few feet behind her on the floor.

"You're outnumbered." Kate said matter-of-fact, trying to seem unaffected by everything. "Might as well give up now." She insisted, being cut off by the demon's obnoxious laughter.

When he finally stopped, Xavier gave her a patronizing look. "You really think I would have organized all of this, get you here, and not have planned that you'd bring help?" He chuckled as Kate's hard look faltered. "Sweetheart, I've got leverage."

As if on cue, Caroline came in the room, dragging a struggling Dean along with her.

….

Ash made his way to the warehouse's office after knocking on Dean's door, swiping his long bangs out of his face. Xavier had approached him earlier and asked him to meet him here before everything went down. Even though the request seemed strange, the demon went with it anyways.

He grasped the doorknob and opened the door, flicking the light on as he did so. He glanced around at the empty room with skepticism, wondering where the hell his brother was.

"Didn't think we'd find out?" A gruff voice accused from behind him, the demon spinning around to face the newcomer.

Ash was greeted with a swift punch to the jaw, causing him to retreat backwards into the office right on top of a decorative rug.

Xavier glared at his brother, obsidian orbs shining with rage as his body radiated hatred. "You helped him!"

"I was just trying to make it a little more fun!" Ash tried to explain as he began to feel concern for his own well-being. "Come on, man. Why would I help them?"

Xavier just shook his head, at a loss for words for why his brother would do this to their family. "I don't know. But, what I do know is that you're going to stay there until Dad gets here and then he can deal with you." He spat with venom lacing his words as he eyed the family disappointment.

Ash glanced down and cursed under his breath. When he lifted his gaze, Xavier was gone.

….

"Dean!" Kate screeched frantically, taking a step forward only to stop when Caroline brought a knife to her boyfriend's throat. She looked Dean up and down, her eyes welling with tears at the sight of his swollen nose and the purple bruise on his cheek.

Kate wasn't sure whether or not Dean was purposely avoiding eye contact with her, but he seemed to all of a sudden find the floor very interesting.

Dean grunted as Caroline applied light pressure with the blade before Xavier spoke. "I expect full surrender or Ken doll over there is going to know what it feels like to have black smoke blown up his ass."

Kate stiffened, the idea of one of these monsters possessing the man she loved unbearable. "Please, just let him go." Kate pleaded, feeling helpless.

Dean finally lifted his gaze to look at Kate. He tried to hide the betrayal and hurt behind a mask but by the grief-stricken features of his girlfriend, he wasn't doing a good job at it.

"Drop all of your weapons. Now." Xavier ordered, taking a step toward the group of four in front of him.

With obvious reluctance, Sam and Bobby obliged and kicked their weapons towards the middle of the room.

Caroline smirked cockily and loosened her hold on Dean, lowering the knife just enough…

He reached into his pocket with his free hand and without any hesitation buried the knife hilt deep into Caroline's thigh.

The demon roared with pain and shoved him away, Dean quickly regaining his balance and swooping down to pick up the weapons they had dropped.

Xavier and Caroline both rounded on the now group of five, pitch black eyes flicking back and forth between them.

Dean ripped the gag from his mouth and didn't even process that Kate had stepped closer to him after turning around to pick up her weapons. Without taking his eyes off of the pair of demons, he held out the silver flask and blade to his brother and Bobby. "Where's your plan B this time?" He quipped, watching as Xavier clenched his fist in anger.

Tyler stood there and watched as Dean took control over the situation, eyeing him with narrowed eyes. He couldn't help but feel a little impressed, although he would never admit it.

Caroline yanked the small pocket knife from her leg that was now coated in blood and held it tauntingly toward Dean. "You'll pay for that." She hissed right before whipping it toward his head.

Kate let out a scream as she waited for the inevitable right before she heard a loud thump on the ground.

Dean was staring up at Tyler who had just tackled him to the floor, not even having time to say 'thank you' before Xavier launched himself toward the pair.

Sam didn't even know what was happening before Caroline was hurling herself his way, narrowly putting up his arm in time to block her flying fists.

Dean hauled himself up off the floor and grabbed a metallic blade that must've been dropped.

Xavier watched Tyler, who's split lip had started to bleed, begin to chuckle. "What's so funny?" He barked, rage evident in his voice.

"Dean Winchester's behind you." The elder Lavalette warned right as a sharp point was jabbing into the demon's back.

Xavier looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with his sister who was on the other side of the room in a similar situation except by Bobby Singer. As if on cue, both demons snapped their fingers and disappeared before anyone could stop them.

….

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." Dean said with amusement as they entered the office, planning on going out the same way they came in.

Ash crossed his arms and gave the group of five the biggest bitch face he could muster before he rolled his eyes. "Alright, laugh it up. Will one of you make yourself useful and free me?" He asked, trying his hardest to sound polite.

"Why the hell would we help you?" Kate asked, her tone laced with resentment.

"He was the one who gave me that knife." Dean said without even looking at her before crouching down and lifting up the rug a bit. He flipped open the pocket knife and scratched some of the spray paint away.

With a sneer that didn't have much bite to it, Ash walked out the door and made his way to the actual entrance. "You guys going to climb out the window like a bunch of idiots or just use the front door?" He asked, not even bothering to look over his shoulder to see if they would follow.

Once the group got back to the cars, Ash promptly saluted them. "Not that I didn't enjoy your company, because I didn't, but I think it's time for me to head out." He said, gesturing with his thumbs behind him. "So thanks, you guys are welcome for helping Dean-o out there and risking my own skin, but I hope I never see any of you ever again."

The group just stared with a variety of emotions after the arrogant demon.

Sam, Bobby, and Tyler all started towards the older hunter's truck before Dean stopped them. "Sam, can I talk to you real quick?" He asked, looking beaten to hell.

Sam nodded, stepping towards his brother with a concerned look on his face. "You okay, man?"

Dean rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'm fine. I just wanted to say thanks for coming. I know it couldn't have been easy believin' all that demon talk. Hell, I barely believed it when they were standing right in front of me." He said, scoffing slightly.

"Kate didn't tell you anything before it happened?" Sam asked, his brows scrunching in confusion.

Dean just simply shook his head, his lips pressed in a firm line.

Sam clapped his brother on the shoulder reassuringly before heading over to Bobby's truck.

"You think they'll work things out?" Bobby asked once they were all in his pick-up, glancing in his rearview mirror to watch Dean get in the passenger seat of Kate's cherry bug, cradling his right wrist carefully.

Tyler and Sam shared a solemn look, neither willing to answer the question.

…

"Are you hungry?" Dean asked Kate when they finally made it back to their apartment and he had been able to change into a black t-shirt and fresh jeans. "I feel like I could eat a horse. Or four." He looked at his girlfriend who still seemed in thought as if she hadn't had enough time to think during their completely silent car ride back. His wrist and nose were still throbbing, no doubt he'd have to get them checked out, and the bruises on his face had turned a nice shade of blue.

He glanced around the kitchen that was still a mess from his dinner fiasco and the demon encounter before his eyes found the empty counter he was positive he had left something on. "Hey, have you seen-?" He turned towards Kate and felt his heart in his throat.

She stood there with a watery smile, holding up the small, velvet box he had been searching for. "No." She said slowly, trying to keep her emotions under control as she saw a flash of doubt flicker across Dean's face.

"No as in you aren't hungry-?" He began hopefully, only to be cut off. He was trying to ignore the voice of panic in his head screaming at him as she spoke.

Kate shook her head, blinking back tears. "No as in…" She paused and took a deep breath, watching as the man she loves face fell. "I can't marry you."

Dean felt like the world was crashing down around him as he processed what she had just said. "What do you mean? Kate, I know we have some issues to work out but let's not throw this away because you lied to me."

"I lied to protect you." The young hunter clarified, keeping her tone even as she approached him. She grabbed his left hand and uncurled his fingers, placing the box on his open palm before closing his hand around it. She looked up at those brilliant green eyes she was so used to waking up next to and saw nothing but grief, still grasping Dean's hand. "That's also why I'm doing this. You're not safe being with me especially now that the Carter's are taking action. If something were to happen to you because of me…" She trailed off, not even wanting to go down that path.

"I can't believe you're doing this. I can take care of myself!" He yelled as he ripped his hand away from her grasp, masking how hurt he really was with anger.

She flinched at his outburst, wishing she could somehow explain her reasoning to him. "Dean, you almost died because you were associated with me! Monsters and others demons are going to find out about you and use you against me! I've pissed off too many supernatural creatures for comfort." She stated, wanting him to understand.

"Kate, you're acting like I'm a two-year old. I can handle a few monsters." Dean argued as he tried to hide the desperation in his tone. Just the thought of losing Kate made him feel like he was suffocating.

"I'm not willing to take that chance." She said softly, watching as his face turned to a mask.

"You mean, you aren't willing to for us?" He asked with an accusation evident in his words as he locked gazes with Kate, begging her with his eyes to change her mind.

"I'll leave in the morning. I'm sorry." She managed to get out as the tears started to fall, not even having the strength to look at Dean as her eyes fell to the floor.

"Don't apologize. You gotta do what you gotta do, right?" He said bitterly, shaking his head as his chest tightened. "You can stay here, I'll just go stay at Sam's until I find a new place." With that, Dean took off to the bedroom to begin packing, leaving Kate there in the kitchen, trying to tell herself she made the right choice.

….

 _"Don't lie to me." Dean said, smiling as he glanced over at the beautiful woman sitting next to him in a black bathing suit on the towel they set out on the beach._

 _"What makes you think I'm lying?" Kate asked as she turned her head to look at him, grinning broadly. "Girl Scout Honor." She promised, giggling when he raised a bemused brow at her._

 _"There's no way, that out of everything in the world, that you are scared of bees." Dean argued, shaking his head as he admired the outstanding view of the ocean they had._

 _"I swear!" She promised, sitting cross-legged and scooting closer to him. "They're yellow and black wrapped devils." She reasoned, running her hand along Dean's leg, starting at his ankle and gradually moving up. "Plus, I'm allergic to them so that may be part of it."_

 _"Oh, is that it?" He asked teasingly as her fingers grazed his knee and continued moving up. He sat up a little and checked to see if anyone was around before he got distracted by a small hand gripping the inside of his leg. "We are in public." He said in a hushed whisper as she began to massage his thigh, smirking slightly while he pulled her hand away but still held on to it._

 _She gave him a look of disbelief before tugging her hand away. "Last time I checked your backseat in a Wal-Mart parking lot was a public place."_

 _He laughed loudly as he remembered that day, Kate cherishing the sound before he brought lust-filled eyes to meet hers. "Touché."_

 _Kate let out a small yelp as he suddenly pulled her on top of him and pressed his warm, soft lips to hers. She chuckled against his mouth and straddled him before allowing herself to melt into the man she loved._

….

 **TBC**

 **Stay tuned. Background stories and more action to come. Leave a review if you feel like it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Just an FYI, the '# after…' are all counting from the day they rescued Dean! Read on!**

 **CHAPTER FOUR: The One With The Team Ups**

 _Six months after…_

"Who the hell are you?" A man with pitch black eyes spat, glaring up at the person who had captured him. The demon was sitting tied to a chair in an abandoned barn and was firmly stuck in a devil's trap, fuming at the fact he let some nobody get the better of him.

"What's so special about Tulsa, Oklahoma that you and about ten more of your pals felt the need to set up base here?" The hunter asked as he pulled out a thin, silver blade. "Sorry, I couldn't quite catch that." He quipped when the demon remained silent, going as far as cupping his ear and leaning towards him.

"Bite me." He hissed, very clearly pissed off.

"No, it _can't_ be."

The hunter spun around, eyes widening at the snarky tone as his gaze landed on an all too familiar blond leaning against the door frame. "Is that, no, it can't be. Is that _Dean freaking Winchester?_ " He asked, absolutely dumbfounded.

"What the hell do you want, Ash?" Dean demanded, not in the mood for games and not even seeming surprised to see him.

"I want the demon you stole from me." Ash stated before leaning to the side to where he could see the trapped man. He gave him a little wave and a smug grin, ignoring the rude remarks the demon yelled at him.

"You two friends?" Dean asked with skepticism.

"No, but, I really need that demon." Ash said, holding out his right hand for the weapon Dean was holding.

"Alright." Dean agreed, taking a step toward the bound demon and quickly burying his blade into its chest.

"No! Are you- are you kidding me? Really?" Ash asked with annoyance after the demon in the chair lit up with orange and slouched in the seat. Dean chuckled before aiming the small sword at Ash. "Woah hey, I'm your buddy. I helped you out before and I'm willing to help you out again."

Dean narrowed his eyes and lowered the blade he had been given by another hunter. "What do you mean?"

"Listen, I'd love to chat right now, really I would, but I'd rather not do this out in the open. I'm assuming you're staying in a mold infested motel room?" He asked, looking as if he was ready to bolt from the barn.

"Yeah, it's Motel 6." Dean answered regrettably, although he had to admit he was curious what kind of story Ash was going to pull out of his ass.

"Great! I'll meet you there." With a quick wink and a cocky grin, Ash was out the door.

….

 _Six months after…_

Kate was currently gritting her teeth together as Bobby Singer continued stitching up her latest cut in the middle of his living room in Sioux Falls.

She had been hunting a werewolf with the older hunter when out of nowhere its mate had showed up and decided to attempt to rip her arm off. Thankfully for Kate, Bobby managed to sink a silver bullet into the wolf's skull before the damn thing got very far.

"Almost done, just hang in there." Bobby encouraged as he finished the last stich before covering it with a bandage. "You should be all set but-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, watch for infection, blah blah blah. I know the drill." Kate dismissed as she found the bottle of Jack Bobby had conveniently put next to her. She took a long swig of the best type of pain medication she has ever been able to find and took a moment to appreciate the burning sensation as the liquid made its way down her throat. "God, I love whiskey."

Bobby chuckled next to her before eyeing Kate carefully. When she shot him a questioning gaze, he sighed deeply. "How are you doing?" He asked gingerly, knowing this was a difficult topic for the younger hunter that normally resulted in a sarcastic remark.

"You mean besides the raging gash on my arm? I'm just peachy." Kate answered unconvincingly, earning herself a leveling glare. "Really, Bobby, I'm fine. I've gotten worse injuries than this." She insisted again, even though she knew it wasn't her physical state he was talking about.

"Have you heard from him?" He asked quietly, watching as Kate's mask of disinterest faltered slightly.

She shot him a thin-lipped smile along with a quick head shake, wanting to desperately change the subject.

Bobby nodded knowingly and grabbed her hand from where it had been sitting on the couch, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sure he's okay. You know, you could always call Sam." He offered, although he knew the likelihood of Kate following his advice was slim to none.

"Like you said, I'm sure he's fine." She stated, her tone making it sound like she was trying to convince herself. "Now, I have to get back to Kansas. You know they only allow me three days off a week so make sure you have another kick ass case ready for me next time!" She tried to sound happy and excited as she stood up, giving her surrogate father a warm hug before running out of his house so he wouldn't see the trail of tears falling down her face.

….

 _Six months after…_

"Alright, what the hell do you want?" Dean demanded again as soon as Ash showed up to his room. How the demon had figured out which room he was in was beyond him but at this point, he really didn't care.

"That's a nice car you got out there." Ash stated, rolling his eyes when Dean offered no response besides a bored expression. "Come on, we haven't seen each other in six months, what's new?" The pesky demon asked, plopping down in a chair.

"How about you go first?" Dean suggested, not willing to do anything until he got some information.

Ash sighed overdramatically before giving in. "So, I'm sure you remember the whole kidnapping thing, me helping you, my siblings finding out, etc.?" He asked to clarify. When Dean nodded, he went on. "Well, turns out my family, _lovely_ people by the way, put out a demon APB on my sweet ass. Apparently, I managed to piss them off with that little stunt of mine." He hesitated and stood up in order to get closer to Dean who instinctively backed up. "But, my friend, there's safety in numbers. You obviously are hunting, which by the way, how did that happen? And, I'm obviously being hunt _ed_ by my own kind. Soooo," He paused for suspense, waiting a few seconds before continuing. "How about we help each other by sticking together? I'll help you hunt things that go bump in the night if you help me take out any demons that come our way." When Ash finally finished his speech, he watched Dean expectantly, waiting for him to look excited or… something at least.

"So you're telling me you can't handle some demons by yourself?" Dean eventually asked, earning an 'are you serious' look from Ash.

" _Noooo_ ," He said pointedly. "Sure, I can take on three demons, easy. But I know my siblings, they'll send packs after me and I quite enjoy living so I've stooped to my lowest and asked a hunter to help me." He said, pointing a finger at the man in front of him. "In case you didn't get it, that's you short bus."

"You're a short bus…" Dean hesitated, trying to think of a good comeback but instead, "Short bus," came out. Ash snorted, Dean continuing only to get him to shut up. "If you give me any trouble-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, you'll kill me, blah blah blah." Ash said dismissively, waving his hand. "So, are we hunting buddies?" He asked hopefully, giving Dean a toothy grin.

With a loud groan, he ran an aggravated hand down his face. "Fine, only if you never call us that. _Ever_. I'm serious." He said, never wanting to hear that phrase uttered ever again.

Ash let out a 'woop' before smiling broadly and patting him on the back. "Dean-o, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

…

 _Seven months after…_

"Kate, are you sure you don't want to slow down? Word around the grapevine is that you've been killing yourself with work and hunts."

Kate looked at her current hunting partner and sighed as she continued to pack her duffel with the necessary supplies. "Yes, I'm fine. When is everyone going to stop asking me that?" She questioned, her words coming out harsher than she meant them to as she slammed her trunk shut.

Her partner for this hunt held up his thin arms in an act of surrender. "Easy, I was just wonderin'." He clarified, moving his attention to the vast span of trees around them.

Kate rolled her eyes and eyed the baseball capped hunter next to her. "Are you trying to be a Bobby impersonator, Garth?"

He chuckled and adjusted his hat slightly. "Course not, I could never impersonate that man. But, we better get crackin'. This Wendigo ain't gonna hunt itself." Garth stated, shooting her a goofy grin before heading off into the woods with Kate right on his heels.

….

 _Seven months after…_

"That's cold man. I'm telling you, chicks are a waste of time." Ash said indelicately once Dean had finally told him what had happened with Kate, shaking his head. "If you ask me-"

"I didn't." Dean interrupted as they drove down a country road on their way to Maine for a case.

" _If you ask me,_ " The demon said again with an attitude. "You obviously don't need protecting. I mean, look at you. You've got the rippling biceps, the rough 'I've killed before' vibe. You've hunted on your own for six months before I came along and managed to stay in one piece-"

"Five months actually." Dean pointed out, giving him a sideways glance.

"Tomato tamato." Ash muttered before switching gears. "So what made you decide to start hunting? Just wanted to prove Kate wrong?"

Dean glared at him, really not wanting to talk about Kate anymore. "I needed a distraction and I…" He stopped himself, knowing Ash would freak out if he told him he was tracking his family. So instead, he improvised. "And since I knew what was actually out there, I figured I should do something about it rather than sit on my ass and twiddle my thumbs."

Ash pursed his lips thoughtfully, wondering why the hell anyone would choose this life voluntarily when he suddenly remembered something. "Wait, holy shit! You're the new hunter everybody's been talking about!" He proclaimed suddenly, turning in the passenger seat to face him head on. "Wow, I would've never guessed." He stated, still seeming bewildered.

"You talk to other hunters?" Dean asked, not buying it.

Ash raised his brows at the hunter beside him with mischief shining in his eyes. "I do when they think I'm one of them. But, I also have a few monster friends, one of which said that you wiped out an entire vampire nest near theirs. They're all scared shitless of you." A laugh burst from Ash's throat. "Oh man, if I brought you to the next party, they'd all lose it."

Dean glanced at him with disbelief, wrapping his head around what was just said. "You go to parties… with other monsters?" He managed to get out, trying not to laugh too hard.

"Hey, even monsters like to have a little fun." Ash shrugged as if it was no big deal before turning up the volume on the radio, silently signifying he was done talking.

…

 _One year after…_

Kate was pacing back and forth in her living room, tapping her cell phone to her chin as she debated for about the umpteenth time since Dean had moved out a year ago to call Sam. All she wanted to know was how he was doing, was it crazy if she called to check up on both of them?

Taking a deep breath, she opened up her phone and scrolled down to Sam's name before hitting the send button.

"Hello? Kate?" He answered, sounding confused.

"Sam! So good to hear from you. How are things?" She asked, trying to seem casual by not bringing Dean up first.

Sam's brows knitted together as he thought how strange this was. "Uh, good. You wouldn't happen to know why my brother's been ignoring my phone calls this last year, would you?"

Kate paused before forcing a nervous laugh. "What do you mean? Isn't he there with you? When I last talked to him he said he was going to stay with you."

The youngest Winchester stared at his phone, thoroughly perplexed and a little worried. "Kate, I haven't seen Dean since we rescued him and Tyler. Hell, I haven't even talked to him. What do you mean by he was coming here? Did you guys end things?" He questioned as he felt completely out of the loop. He quickly ducked into the laundry room when he heard Jessica come home, not wanting to work her up over what potentially could be a supernatural problem.

"Yeah we did. But Sam, you don't know where he is?" She asked, trying her hardest to stay calm and rational.

"No, if I had known what happened, I would've sent his ass back to you to fix things." Sam admitted, rubbing his forehead anxiously.

Kate sighed as worry started to bubble in her gut. "I'll find him, Sam." She said, already starting to move to the hallway.

"Let me know when you do." He requested, hoping to God that his big brother was okay.

After a quick goodbye, Kate rushed to the closet and pulled out her already packed duffel bag and ran out the door.

….

 _One year after…_

"Kate, I didn't know you were comin'." Bobby said when he opened his front door to see a very frazzled brunette standing there.

"Bobby, who is it?" A familiar voice asked from the kitchen, causing Kate's eyes to widen in panic.

"What's wrong? It's just Tyler." Bobby soothed, gesturing for her to come in.

With reluctance, she walked into the house, not mentally prepared for any rant her brother might go on about her ex-boyfriend. "Have you heard from Dean lately?" Kate questioned as she walked into the living room right as Tyler did from the opposite direction.

"Katie! It's good to see you." He exclaimed before rushing forward and enveloping her in a bear hug.

"Katie is a six-year old's name. It's Kate." She pat his back a bit awkwardly, pushing him off when she had enough.

Bobby joined the pair in the room, sitting on one of the stools in the corner. "Uh, no I haven't heard from Dean." He said regrettably when he saw Kate's face fall. "Why? What's goin' on?"

"Okay so you remember a year ago when I asked you to start sending me cases after I broke up with him?" She began, continuing when he acknowledged her with a nod. "He had told me he was going to go stay at Sam's but when I called him yesterday, he said he hasn't heard from Dean since we rescued him." She explained, feeling more and more hopeless as she talked.

"He probably just decided he needed some space. I can see what I can dig up as soon as I find someone to handle this case." Bobby promised before walking over to his desk and holding up a manila folder. Kate's brows came together as she stood up and made her way over to her surrogate father, snatching the folder. "I didn't mean _you_." He said sternly, moving to take it back.

"I need to get my mind off things and," She trailed off as she scanned the article, looking for a location. "Ohio isn't even that far away." When she noticed Bobby still didn't look convinced she motioned towards Tyler. "I'll bring him with me."

Bobby looked at Tyler for confirmation that he would, sighing when all he did was shrug with indifference. "Fine! I want to be kept updated." He grumbled, throwing his hands up.

"You've grown soft, old man." Kate noted with amusement before planting a kiss on his cheek and taking off to her car.

….

 _One year after…_

"I'll stay in the car." Ash said once they pulled up outside a victim's wife's house in a small town in Ohio.

Dean fixed his tie in the rearview mirror, shooting his passenger a look. "Hey, we're _hunting buddies_ ," He said with disgust evident in his tone. "So get your ass outta the car and let's go."

After flashing black eyes at the bossy Winchester, he got out while muttering profanity under his breath. "I look like a blue's brother." He said irritably as he tugged at the cheap suit and tie he had been forced to wear.

Dean smirked before eying him up and down. "I was gonna say more like a 12-year-old about to attend his first school dance."

" _I was gonna say more like a 12-year-old about to attend his first school dance."_ Ash mocked in a childish voice. "Shut up." This was their first case where they decided to play dress-up as FBI agents and Ash had to admit, he hated it. He was used to using force in order to get information.

Dean snickered as they stepped foot on the porch, grabbing his fake FBI badge from his crisp dark blue suit jacket before knocking on the door.

After a moment, the door swung open to reveal a woman with graying hair and wide eyes. "Can I help you with something?" She asked timidly, looking over her shoulder inside her house.

The pair both flashed their badges, earning a strange look from the widow. "We just need to ask you some questions regarding your husband."

The woman, Dean recalled her name was Evelyn, laughed nervously. "How many more of you are there?" She wondered, gesturing towards what looked to be a living room with her thumb. "There's already two agents in there. But, please come in."

Ash shot his partner a panicked glance as they were led into the house which Dean replied to with a shrug and an 'act casual' look.

When they entered the small living room, the two female fed's stood up and looked at the newcomers.

"Agents, I was unaware you two were coming. Didn't you get the email?" The older, shorter woman asked. She moved her medium-length brown hair behind her shoulders before crossing her arms, eyeing the pair that just joined them with defiance.

"I just got a call from D.C. We were told to come handle it." Dean stated confidently, his gaze unwavering when he locked eyes with the other blonde female who looked significantly younger. "So if you two don't mind, I believe we have seniority here."

The blond crossed her arms and raised a slim brow. "We've already conducted a thorough interview. If you would like, we can give you a full run-down back at the local police station."

Dean forced a polite smile before turning to the widow with clasped hands. "I apologize for the mix-up and your loss. If you need anything, please feel free to call me." He insisted before pulling out a business card and handing it to her.

With one last look at each of them, Dean filed out of the house, Ash and the other two agents following after him.

"What's your names?" The small, blonde asked as soon as they were out of the house and the door shut behind them.

Dean walked over to his '67 Chevy Impala and leaned on the hood, giving the pair of woman an amused look. "Mind if I see your badges?"

Both the females shared a nervous look before handing them over, watching him intently as he examined them.

"I'll be damned." He said with astonishment before showing them to Ash who looked at them with no understanding what was so special about them. "You two are hunters, right?" He asked even though he was already almost positive as he handed the badges back over.

The older 'agent' looked taken aback before she stopped the act. "How'd you know?"

"The expiration date. Ours are just like 'em." Dean elaborated, chuckling slightly. "You two got names?"

"I'm Ellen." The older one stated before pointing to the blonde. "This here is my daughter Jo. And you two are?"

"I'm Ash and this is-" The demon began only to be cut off when Dean stepped on his foot forcefully.

"Doesn't matter who I am. I'm a new hunter, that's all you need to know." He said vaguely, not willing to give up any unnecessary information before he continued. "Well, thanks for stealing our witness but we've got it from here so you two can head out." He said arrogantly, earning two incredulous looks from the mother-daughter pair.

"I'm sorry, but we were here first. If you're not willin' to work together, then I don't know what to tell you. We're stayin' to finish the job." Ellen said boldly as she locked eyes with Dean. There was no way in hell she was going to let some self-righteous newbie take her case.

"The more the merrier, right partner?" Ash said cheerfully, punching Dean in the arm roughly.

With a strained smile, he nodded. "Right."

….

 **TBC**

 **Hope you are still enjoying. Thanks so much for the reviews. If you feel like it, leave me another. They really make my week!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Hello! Thanks for reading! Just so you know, it has been a year since they rescued Dean at this point in the story. Just so you aren't wondering why I stopped putting the time span. Read on!**

 **CHAPTER FIVE: The One With All The Lies**

"So, you and Dean, huh?" Tyler asked once they had been driving for a while with nothing but the steady stream of rock music filling the car.

Sensing that this was most likely going to be an in depth conversation, Kate reluctantly turned the volume down, sighing deeply. "I ended things after we rescued him." She stated, her tone hard.

Her brother nodded before his brows knitted together. "Can I ask why?" He questioned. Although he was never a huge fan of the guy, he knew that he had made his sister happy.

" _Why?"_ Kate asked in disbelief, glancing at him before returning her attention to the road. "He's not safe around me Ty, I had to send him away to keep him safe." She stated, silently reassuring herself that she made the right call. Even after a year, she still thought back to that day and wonder if it had been a mistake.

Tyler seemed to accept her answer, bobbing his head in response. "Do you miss him?" He asked softly, not meeting his sister's gaze as flashes of dark hair and brown eyes flashed across his vision. He squeezed his eyes shut, banishing those thoughts before returning his attention to Kate.

"Every damn minute." She breathed, almost not wanting to admit it out loud. She had been the one to end things, what gave her the right to miss him?

But she couldn't help it, she was so used to waking up every morning next to bright green eyes and adorably mussed bed head that it hurt to roll over and not feel his warmth beside her. She was so used to crawling under the covers next to him every night, nestling her head on his shoulder while he wrapped his arms around her. He had been the reason she stopped having nightmares and now that he was gone, they were back full force. But, now they included him.

"Katie?" Tyler began hesitantly, pulling the brunette from her internal monologue. When she lifted her eyes briefly from the road to look at him, he continued. "It'll be okay." He told her.

Kate nodded, knowing that her brother had multiple experiences in the department of losing someone you loved; from their mother to Paige, he had gone through a lot of grief. Except, Tyler's losses were much more permanent and much less willing.

They drove in silence the rest of the way and once they passed over the city line of Columbus, Ohio, the pair decided it was time for a drink.

….

 _"Hey babe, have you seen my-?"_

 _Dean had barely been able to finish his sentence before Kate popped into their bedroom, holding his favorite Led Zepplin shirt. He smirked and walked over, leaning to grab it when Kate yanked it away, a playful gleam in her eyes._

 _He lifted a daring brow at her before lunging forward and snaking his arm around her waist, causing her to let out a small yelp while he brought her close._

 _She smiled warmly up at him, allowing him to take his shirt in his free hand before brushing her fingers across his bare chest._

 _Dean threw the t-shirt behind him on their bed and caught her chin with his now empty hand, tilting her face up towards him before planting a soft kiss on her lips._

 _Kate pressed closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck while he put his calloused hands on her hips, deepening the kiss._

 _When they pulled apart, Dean quickly turned around and threw his shirt on, earning a disappointed whine from Kate._

 _He chuckled and shook his head, placing both hands on her shoulders and giving her a peck on the cheek. "We both need to get to work."_

 _…._

 _"_ Why did we get a motel room right next to theirs?" Dean asked irritably as he started unlocking their door.

Ash groaned loudly, beginning to grow tired of Dean's constant pessimism. "Because we are _working with them._ " He said slowly and pointedly, ignoring the strong urge he had to punch him.

"I don't like this." Dean admitted, shaking his head as he set his duffel on one of the beds.

"Is the reason you started hunting because you had a lot of pent up rage?" Ash asked sincerely before leaning in closer, his face scrunched. "You know you could just have a lot of sex right?"

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to shut up for five freaking minutes, right?" Dean retorted, trying to tune out the pesky demon.

"So tell me," Ash began in order to switch gears, plopping down in a plush seat in the corner of the musty motel room. When Dean raised an eyebrow at him, he continued. "What's with this whole, 'I shall not be named' thing you've got going on?" He asked, crossing his legs and resting his lanky arms on the armrests.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Dean instantly denied, avoiding eye contact with the troublesome demon as he started stifling through his duffel and unpacking his clothes and various weapons.

"Sure you do." Ash insisted eagerly. "We've been hunting together for six months now and every time we make any contact with another human being, you refuse to give up a name. You don't even give a fake one!" He said as he sat up a little and gestured with annoyance, plowing forward when all he received was silence for an answer. "It doesn't make sense. You're a new hunter and haven't pissed anyone off yet. I mean, if you were someone like Kate-" Ash rolled his eyes when he watched Dean stiffen and shoot him a glare. "Sorry, if you were a hunter who had pissed people off, I would get hiding your name. So why do you? Unless…" He trailed off, chuckling in disbelief. "It's the only thing that makes sense."

Dean stopped in his distractive task of refolding his clothes to face the demon head on, crossing his arms. "Alright, I'll bite. Unless what?"

"Unless you don't want Kate to hear about you and come knocking." Ash said, a smug grin tugging at his lips as he watched Dean quickly turn away from him. "That's it! God, you two are pathetic. It's been a year and you both are still not over it."

"There's some holes in your theory, Freud." Dean growled at him before realizing something. "Plus, she broke it off, not me." As if suddenly remembering who he was talking to, he shook his head. "Why don't you mind your own damn business and figure out what we're dealing with here." Dean ordered, picking up his laptop from the bed and walking over to set it in front of the nosy demon.

With a head shake and an exaggerated eye roll, Ash opened up the laptop.

….

"Ellen, Jo! What a surprise!" Tyler said as he and Kate approached the pair at the town's local bar.

Ellen sat up in her barstool, setting down her beer she was nursing. "Damn, this case is popular." She said, a smirk tugging at her lips.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked with confusion, her brows furrowed.

The mother-daughter pair glanced at each other before Jo chimed in. "Well, we've got three pairs of hunters workin' it. First it was us, and then a pair of guys, and now you two." She explained, gesturing towards them at the end of her sentence.

Tyler seemed in disbelief as he asked, "Who were the pair of guys?"

Ellen thought for a moment, trying to remember. "Uh, one of them was a blonde, his name was Ash I think, and the other didn't give a name, real tall with brown hair." She shrugged as if it wasn't a huge deal what she had just told them.

The siblings steeled their expressions, not wanting to worry the two. After taking a deep breath, Kate smiled. "Well, obviously this case is well taken care of. We'll head out and find another."

Ellen smiled politely at them, appreciative of the gesture. "Thanks, I'm sure we'll see you around."

After exchanging goodbyes and phone numbers, Tyler and Kate walked back outside to the younger Lavalette's red bug.

"You think Ash and Xavier are up to something?" Tyler asked, seeming fearful as he jammed his tall, lank form into the compact vehicle.

"Let's go find out." Kate stated with conviction right before pressing on the gas.

….

Ash was laying on the motel bed, his arms tucked behind his head when there was a knock at the door. He groaned, not sure why Dean couldn't just let himself in after going to get food for himself.

When he made it to the door, he opened it and said, "Dude you've got a key-", right before he got a swift punch to his jaw. He staggered back and cupped his chin, his obsidian orbs fastening on the pair walking in the room. "That is not a nice way to greet people." Ash chastised while a sly grin tugged at his lips.

His attackers shut the door, one of them quickly pulling out a long silver blade from her waistband.

"Now Kate, is that any way to treat the guy who saved your boyfriend?" The blond asked innocently, his eyes flickering to look at Tyler. "What could you two possibly want?" Ash finally asked when he got nothing but defiant silence as an answer.

"What are you and your brother up to?" Kate demanded, taking a threatening step forward and twirling the blade in her slim hand.

The demon looked genuinely confused as his brows knitted together. "My brother?" He questioned, making sure he heard right. "What makes you think I'm with Xavier?" He asked slowly, trying to seem casual.

"Ellen and Jo said they met up with a blond named Ash and a tall brown-haired guy who wouldn't give up a name. We put two and two together." Tyler explained with a smirk right before it fell from his face when they heard a key scraping in a lock.

Ash lunged towards the door and hastily latched the chain lock before ushering Tyler and Kate towards the bathroom.

"What the hell?" Tyler spat, trying to shove the demon away.

"Do you want to die?" Ash barked, pushing them all the way into the bathroom. "If you know what's good for you, stay in here until I get rid of him."

Although reluctantly, the siblings stayed put, not sure if they were ready for a faceoff with the two demons.

Ash made his way back to the door as an irritated knocking began. "One second." He yelled with annoyance before letting the impatient hunter in. "Sorry, forgot you were coming back."

Just as Dean began to speak, the demon clamped a hand over his mouth. Before he could protest much more, Ash held a finger to his lips and then mouthed 'Kate', pointing towards the bathroom.

Horror and realization passed across Dean's features as he figured out what the demon meant. He nodded slowly, indicating he would be quiet.

Ash let go of Dean, clearly satisfied and begun to lie through his ass. "Hey, Caroline wants us to meet her at that warehouse we passed on the way into town. Why don't you head over while I pack up here and get us checked out?"

He seemed to understand what Ash was getting at because he nodded before taking off outside to get in his car and to wait on the other side of the building.

"Alright, I'll see you later. Buh-bye." Ash said and then shut the door. He paused a moment to take a deep breath, readying himself before going and letting the hunter's out of the bathroom.

"What the hell was that?" Tyler demanded as the pair followed Ash to the main area of the small room.

The demon spun around, eyes wide in shock as he glared at him. "I'm sorry, are you giving me attitude after I just saved your sorry asses?" He asked incredulously even though he really hadn't.

"Why are you meeting your sister?" Kate snapped, getting closer to the demon as the hostility in the room increased.

Ash leveled his gaze with the feisty hunter, not in the mood to deal with this. "We're not, I just said that to get him to leave. Speaking of, there's the door." He hinted, gesturing towards it. He watched as Kate's grip tightened on her blade, obviously not wanting to leave while he was still breathing. "Really Kate? I just saved your lives and you're not willing to leave?" He leaned in close, his eyes switching to black as his voice dropped dangerously low. "You owe me." He stressed each word, a hint of malice lacing his sentence.

Tyler put a hand on his sister's arm and lowered her blade. Even though he wasn't all that thrilled to leave the smug bastard still kicking, he had a point.

Just as they were heading towards the door, Kate turned around abruptly, this time her eyes were desperate. "Have you… Have you seen Dean by any chance?"

"Dean as in, the guy you rescued a year ago? Brown hair, yay high?" The demon clarified, indicating how tall Dean was with his hand. She nodded vigorously before Ash shook his head. "No, not my day to watch him. Sorry." He stated unsympathetically. With a sigh, Kate pursed her lips and turned back to the door. "Well, I hope I never see you two again."

With that, Ash slammed the door shut.

….

"Dude that was a close one." Dean stated obviously as he rejoined the demon in their room. Noticing Ash was on the phone, he walked over to one of the kitchen chairs and sat down. As he settled himself into the chair, he couldn't help but let his thoughts drift to Kate. What would've happened if they had come face to face? Would she take him back?

No, Dean couldn't think about that. If he got back with Kate, there is no guarantee that she wouldn't break up with him again to protect him. Dean wasn't too sure he could deal with it again.

Once he was finished, Ash quickly hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket. "Hey we gotta go." He urged as he moved to the bed and started packing up a duffel.

"What? Why?" Dean asked, being torn from his thoughts as he stood up with scrunched brows.

The demon sighed with exasperation, not in the mood to explain himself. " _Becausssee_ , that was a contact of mine. He said there's a group of about four demons camping at that abandoned factory right on the outskirts of town."

"Like, demon's that could be your sibling's bitches?" Dean clarified, figuring that had to be the case.

Ash nodded and shrugged. "That's what my contact seems to think. We should go take care of it."

With a tired huff, Dean went to his bed and grabbed his duffel. "Alright, let me just pack my stuff."

….

"Kate, what are we still doing here?" Tyler asked impatiently as he and his sister situated themselves by some trees right by Ash's motel room.

"Just… something about the way he acted tells me we should stick around and make sure he wasn't lying." She stated, her blue eyes never wavering from the dark red door.

It was only about five minutes later when Ash emerged from the motel room, followed closely behind by a very familiar face towards a very familiar vehicle.

Kate felt her breath get caught in her throat as her stomach dropped while she watched her ex-boyfriend say something to Ash before they climbed in Dean's car.

All the while Kate felt her world collapsing around her, Tyler was watching Dean. He felt utter disgust and hatred start to bubble in his gut when his sister interrupted his internal bashing of the eldest Winchester.

"I can't believe Xavier possessed Dean and then Ash lied to our faces about it!" She spat, shaking her head as her body trembled with rage.

"Wait, how you do know he's possessed?" Tyler asked, puzzled by his sister's bold statement.

Her mouth dropped as she rounded on her brother. "You think Dean would work with that monster _willingly?!_ " She shouted, Tyler's accusation causing her to grow more furious.

He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Hey, I'm just trying to think of all the possibilities." He explained calmly before putting a hand on her shoulder. "If you want to be sure, let's follow them."

With a reluctant nod, Kate rushed over to her bug and got in the driver's seat, the engine roaring to life the second Tyler had gotten in the car.

….

"Ash, it doesn't look like there's anything here." Dean said pessimistically before even setting foot in the warehouse.

Ash rolled his eyes as they approached the door, gesturing with his head for Dean to pick the lock.

After a few muttered complaints and a scowl, the door was open and the pair walked in.

Ash and Dean both raised their flashlights, the hunter clutching a thin silver blade as they made their way deeper into the warehouse.

…

Kate was fuming as they got out of her car, her lips twisted into a grimace. "So they were really meeting Caroline." She stated as they walked ahead, silently wondering what else Ash had lied about.

"I don't get why you're so shocked. Demons lie." Tyler pointed out, taking a step back from his sister when she shot him a glare.

"Come on." She insisted as they got closer to the door, similarly armed as the pair who had just walked in a moment before.

….

"I'm telling you man, there's nothing here." Dean pointed out once again when they came to an abrupt halt in a large room that had only one door leading out of it which was the one they came in. "We should head back."

He turned back towards the door and before he could grab the handle, the door slammed shut. He could've sworn he saw a flash of brown hair but he convinced himself he was imaging it.

Dean whipped around to face Ash who looked just as freaked out as he did.

"Come on, there's got to be another way out." The demon insisted before taking off to the other side of the room.

Dean began to grumble to himself as he looked around his side of the room, thinking that Ash had completely lost his mind.

Ash glanced around, feeling a pit forming in his stomach that maybe this had been a trap. "You know, we could throw a bad ass party in here." He quipped with a grin as he looked around the large space.

"Ash-" Dean began, only to be cut off by the demon's talking.

"Hang a couple lights, get some music…"

"Ash-"

"Over here we could put-"

"ASH."

"What?!" He roared as he turned towards Dean's incessant calling only to stop abruptly. "Shit."

"Ash, I think this might've been a trap." Dean joked with strained words as a black-eyed man tightened the choke hold he had on the hunter.

The demon's lips twitched with anger as he chastised himself for not bringing a weapon with him. He happened to see Dean's lying on the floor a few feet behind where he was being restrained, but it wasn't going to do Ash any good unless he got to it.

"Ash Carter. Man have we been lookin' for you." The newcomer said hungrily, dark eyes flashing in the dimly lit room.

"Alright, props for finding me. Let him go." He stated threateningly, his gaze flicking to the abandoned weapon. Sure, he could just teleport to it, but by that point Dean could be dead.

"Let him go?" The stranger guffawed at the idea, eyes shining with malice. "I plan on taking him with us."

"He's not a part of this!" Ash growled, taking a step forward only to stop when the demon gave him a warning glare. "This has nothing to do with him." He stated with a softer tone, his features losing their hard edge.

The demon smirked as he looked at Dean who had surprisingly been silent throughout this whole thing. "I think Caroline would beg to differ. She's got dibs on this one." He paused before leaning in closer to him, his hot breath sending chills down Dean's back. "I can see why."

Dean shifted uncomfortably, clawing at the demon's arms to try to pry himself away from him.

….

Kate and Tyler had been making their way down the hallway when they spotted a figure making their way towards an open door. Voices from the room up ahead were making their way towards them, sounding a lot like Dean and Ash.

The pair were about ten feet from the stranger when he slammed the door shut, Kate catching a brief glimpse of piercing green eyes from the now closed off room.

"Kate and Tyler Lavalette. You two aren't supposed to be here." The person who had now turned to face them with pitch black eyes criticized.

"Why? Worried we'll ruin your plan?" Tyler shot back, taking out his gun and leveling it with the demon's chest.

He snickered and held up his hands as if in surrender. "You two aren't on my list. For today at least."

"That was a mistake." A shot rang out as Tyler fired his gun, a bullet with a devil's trap carved into it lodging itself in the demon's forehead.

The pair stepped around the demon and with a quick nod to indicate they both were ready, Kate kicked the door open.

….

 **TBC**

 **I hope you all had a fantastic holiday. Leave me a review as a late Christmas present?**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX: The One With The First Encounter**

The demon that was restraining Dean spun both of them towards the pair that had just charged in. Dean visibly paled when his eyes found Kate and Tyler, his breath catching in his throat.

"You have _got_ to be _kidding_ me!" Ash said in exasperation as he threw his hands up in the air.

"Let him go." Kate growled at the black-eyed stranger whose lips were twitching in anger at the turn of events. Although she thought her words would come out threatening and confidant, her voice broke at the end as her and Dean locked gazes.

The demon snickered as the two Lavalette's aimed their weapons at him before he pulled a knife from his waistband with a thick hilt. "Take one step closer and I'll slit Ken Doll's throat."

"Why does everyone call me that?" Dean muttered more to himself than the rest of the group as he tugged at the demon's arm that was still firmly wrapped around his neck.

The demon looked around and realized he was significantly outnumbered. He couldn't keep an eye on Ash and the two famous hunters that had just stormed in so he needed a distraction. Without much warning, he quickly slammed the hilt of his knife into Dean's forehead, causing him to yell out before he fell unconscious to the floor.

"Dean!" Kate screamed right as Ash appeared behind the demon, armed with the weapon the oldest Winchester had dropped earlier.

The stranger smirked nastily before turning black eyes towards the pair by the door. "Wait till my backup gets here and you guys will all be-"

He was cut off by a blade piercing his spine.

As the demon's skeleton flashed black and orange, Ash knelt down to his friend who was still out-cold with a nasty welt on his temple.

"Get away from him." Kate ordered, keeping her gun pointed at the demon.

Ash planned on just ignoring the pesky hunter and continue to check on his friend when a bullet barreled into his shoulder. He glared up at Kate with a twist of his lips as he realized what that bullet had been.

"I said to get away from him." She stated before tucking her pistol into her waistband.

Ash snarled as he tried to move before realizing it was useless. "Dean's going to be pissed when he wakes up and finds out you killed me." He hissed, glancing down at the new hunter who was still not moving.

Kate seemed at war with herself as she worried at her lip before speaking. "We're not going to kill you."

"What?" Ash and Tyler said together with surprise.

"We could use him to get to his siblings." Kate said reasonably as she took out warded handcuffs from her back pocket.

Although Tyler hated the fact that the demon was going to live another day, his siblings were the biggest of their worries.

….

 _Three years ago…_

 _"Ty, come on. I'll be fine!"_

 _Tyler took a steadying breath as he watched his girlfriend, Paige, cross her arms in defiance in front of him. "This is a dangerous hunt, you don't need to go on it." He tried to argue, the idea of her getting hurt unbearable to him._

 _She scoffed and shook her head, annoyance written all over her face. "I've been on countless hunts with you. I'm twenty-four year's old Tyler! You can't baby me anymore."_

 _Tyler hated the way her voice kept rising the longer they talked. He didn't like whenever she was upset with him but this was something he felt strong enough about to not just back down. "Paige, this is a pack of werewolves. Not just one, not just two, but a whole pack! I've got some friends of mine who are going to back me up but I won't be able to focus on killing the monsters if I'm too worried about keeping you safe!" He finally let his voice get as loud as hers had been, although he wasn't angry. He was just concerned and slightly frustrated._

 _"I'm either going on this hunt with you or I'm going to find hunts on my own." She stated calmly, as if what she had just said hadn't scared him to his core._

 _Had she just threatened to leave him? She couldn't do that. Could she? He rubbed a rough hand down his tired face but knew he had just lost. "Fine. You know that if anything happens to you, I won't be able to live with myself, right?"_

 _Her face finally softened as she approached her boyfriend of two years and hugged him hard, tucking her face into his chest before whispering, "I'm going to be okay."_

 _Tyler held on tight and kissed the top of her head, trying to ignore the feeling in his stomach that was telling him this was going to be the last time he would hold her._

 _…._

Kate was sitting on the motel bed, watching as Dean slept peacefully. She had missed this, this brief moment of calm, where everything seemed like it'd be alright just because he was okay and with her.

It had been a year since she felt like this and _god,_ she had _missed_ it _._

"Kate, we might want to get started before he wakes up." Tyler urged gently from his position on the other side of the room, looking at his sister sadly.

"Yeah, wouldn't want your boyfriend telling you how him and I are besties." Ash chimed in, a smirk tugging at his lips.

She walked over to where they had Ash tied to a chair, his gray t-shirt stained in blood from the gunshot would on his shoulder where the devil's trap bullet was still lodged.

"You lied to us." She stated firmly, trying to keep her anger at bay.

"Technically, I didn't." The demon began, continuing when he got confused looks from the pair. "You asked if I had seen the Dean you rescued a year ago and no, I haven't seen _that_ Dean. I've seen this new, hardened hunter who hates your guts that also happens to be named Dean. Totally not the same guy." He quipped, feeling satisfied when he saw hurt and anger flash in Kate's eyes.

Kate was about to spout off when Tyler promptly placed a hand on her arm. "Don't get emotional. We need answers." He whispered gruffly, hoping she would calm down.

Just when Tyler was about to rattle off another question, there was a groan from the one occupied bed.

"What the hell…"

"Dean! Hey buddy. They've gone crazy!" Ash yelled, only to be silenced by Tyler punching him in the nose, causing blood to pour from his nostrils.

Dean sat up on the bed, reaching up to the source of his headache only to pull his hand back abruptly when he touched the very sensitive welt on his head. He looked around the room, groaning loudly when he saw the two new people standing by Ash. "God, I thought that was just a dream…"

"We were hoping it was just our imagination that you were working with one of the demons who destroyed our family." Tyler spat as he approached Dean who had stood up.

"Last time I checked, what I do, isn't any of your damn business." He retorted, his tone just as deadly. "Not anymore at least." He added, glancing at Kate only briefly.

"I'm pretty sure it is my _damn business_ ," He said those words mockingly before shoving Dean, "When it includes demons that killed my mom!"

"Guys!" Kate yelled, watching as Dean clenched his fists tightly, knowing that was a sign he was about to swing. "This isn't solving anything."

"I just wanna know what makes a man stoop so low that he becomes butt buddies with his ex's worst enemy." Tyler said calmly, raising a taunting brow at him.

Dean took a moment to steady himself before a cocky grin was plastered to his face. "I don't have to explain jack to you. In fact, you can kiss my ass." He stated before turning towards Kate. "Both of you."

Kate tried to hide the hurt that was surely evident on her face although she knew she wasn't doing a good job at it. But, instead of continuing this fight, she took a deep breath to steady herself. "We have a room two doors down. If you want to talk, I'll be there." She said gingerly before dragging Tyler, who was still yelling at Dean, out of the room.

Dean let out an aggravated sigh once the motel room door had shut, running shaking hands through his hair.

"Hey, I get that you're going through some emotional crisis, but could you uh," Ash gave a lopsided grin as he nodded his head at the ropes securing him to the chair. "Help a brotha out?"

Dean rolled his eyes dramatically before going over to him, digging out the bullet from his shoulder with a knife before cutting the ropes.

Ash jumped up enthusiastically before clapping Dean on the shoulder. "Well, I say we blow this popsicle stand. You in?"

"I think I'm going to go get drunk. Don't wait up." Ash didn't even have time to argue with Dean before he was out the door.

….

"Kate, I can't believe how you acted back there."

She looked up from her duffel bag she had been unpacking to stare at her brother in disbelief. "How _I_ acted? What did I do?"

Tyler scoffed and shook his head. "You acted like you still loved him! Like you would take him back in a second!"

"So what if I would?" She yelled, angered by his audacity. "You didn't even give him a chance to explain why he was with Ash! For all we know he could just be using him."

He rolled his eyes dismissively. "Or, he's just that big of a dick. He just wants to hurt you Kate! Hurt out family!"

"You know what, screw you." Kate grabbed her wallet and her keys, done listening to her older brother.

"Where are you going?" Tyler asked tiredly, growing sick of Kate's dramatics.

"To get drunk. Don't wait up."

The door was slammed behind her.

….

 **TBC**

 **Thanks for reading lovelies. Please leave me a review. I love to know how you guys are liking it. It'll get more action-packed. Just wait.**


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN: The One With The Drunken Encounter**

Dean was woken up by a stream of light shining in through a crack in the motel blinds.

He elicited a groan as a hammer pounded at his skull, mentally cursing himself for drinking so much last night.

It was then he realized someone was lying next to him.

He quickly jumped up and glanced at the bed, not able to identify who it was.

Focusing on the fact he was naked, he looked around the room and was relieved to find his boxers easily. He had just slipped them on and was on the hunt for his shirt when a very familiar sleep heavy voice called out to him.

"Dean?"

He froze as recognition hit him. He turned towards the voice and his breath caught in his throat as Kate sat up in bed, using the sheet to cover herself.

Although Dean knew he shouldn't, he couldn't help but think of how beautiful she was even with her hair in disarray and her makeup smudged.

Kate was all of a sudden very aware of the fact that she was naked and that Dean practically was. Her face turned bright red as she ran a hand through her hair. Between the nausea, headache and lack of clothes, it was enough to piece together what they had done last night. "We didn't…" She paused, hoping he would reassure her but when he didn't, "Did we?"

"Apparently there's only one bar in this town." He joked, a bitter smirk on his lips. He leaned down and grabbed Kate's clothes off the floor before tossing them on the bed next to her. "All I know, is this was a mistake. One and done, right?" He asked gruffly, missing the flash of pain in her eyes because he was too busy slipping his jeans and t-shirt on.

Once both were dressed, Kate stood up, the bed between the pair.

"Was it?" She prompted gently, obviously not feeling the same way Dean did.

"Why wouldn't it be? It took me a year to finally start feeling okay again, Kate and now all of a sudden you're here and showing up at the bars I'm at and getting drunk and having sex with me!" He said a bit unreasonably. He was so caught up in his emotions that Dean didn't even realize how ridiculous he just sounded.

"Last time I checked, it took both of us to get drunk and have sex!" Kate yelled right back, tired of being his punching bag. "I let it go yesterday but you know what, I'm done giving you space. You owe me an explanation for what you've been doing this past year." She said firmly, crossing her arms defiantly.

" _I_ owe _you_ an explanation? If anything, you owe me one for why you decided to end things!"

Kate scoffed in disbelief. "I told you why! To pro-"

"To protect me, I know. You said that. But that's about as vague as an explanation gets." Dean retorted, his pent up emotions from the past year coming out.

Kate pressed her lips in a firm line, realizing they were getting pretty loud. "I had already lost my mom and basically my dad because of the Carter's. I wasn't about to just stand by and watch as they eventually took you away from me too! I thought you'd be safer if you got away from me but apparently, you felt so hell bent on proving me wrong that you threw yourself right in the middle of the fight by befriending Ash!"

"You think I started hunting just so I could prove a point?" Dean retorted, Kate giving him a 'duh' look. "I hopped in the damn frying pan to kill the bastards that destroyed your family! That destroyed us!"

It was dead silent as the pair stood there, Dean breathing hard from his last outburst. Kate looked stunned, the thought that he had took up hunting for revenge having never crossed her mind.

Before she could respond, Dean continued. "I started hunting because I knew what was out there. I couldn't just sit on my ass. I also… the Carter's tore us a part. I planned to do the same to them. Six months ago, Ash showed up. I let him stick around because I figured he would bring demons with him. That way I could practice exorcising and killing them so that I could do the same to his family when they finally caught up to us."

Kate didn't know what to say. She was now positive she should have never broken it off with Dean. "I'm so sorry. I wish…" She moved around the bed and stopped in front of him, grabbing his hands in hers.

"Yeah, well. You did." He stated, pulling his hands away. "If you want to hunt together, I'm game. But I'm not ready for something more."

She nodded, feeling that was fair after she had ended things. "I should go tell Tyler that he can go back to Bobby's. Actually, we should stop by there anyways."

"Uh, are you sure Tyler can't just take care of it?" Dean asked, seeming not fond of the idea.

"It won't take long and you've met Bobby before." Kate reminded, finding his behavior strange.

"Before we go, I should probably tell you something."

…...

"You knew what he was doing and didn't tell me?!"

Bobby flinched as his front door slammed shut and a very angry Kate stormed into his living room followed by Dean, Tyler and Ash.

"Balls…"

"Sorry Bobby." Dean apologized before having a seat on the couch.

"If you ask me, that's not all you should apologize for…" Tyler muttered under his breath but made it loud enough for everyone to hear.

Kate sighed with frustration. "Tyler, either get over it or get out." When her brother didn't reply, she returned her attention to Bobby. "You helped him start hunting?"

He exhaled deeply, taking off his cap and running his hands through his limited hair before replacing it. "Dean came to me a month after you guys broke up."

 _Eleven months ago…_

 _It was three o'clock in the morning and Bobby had no idea why someone was banging on his front door._

 _He stumbled out of bed, making sure to grab the shotgun he had conveniently placed by his bedroom door before he took off down the stairs._

 _He walked carefully towards his front door, the night sky making it impossible to make out whoever it was._

 _When he opened the door, he was shocked to see Dean Winchester holding a bottle of liquor and a pistol._

 _"What the hell, boy? Get inside!" Bobby ordered, dragging him through the threshold._

 _"I want you to teach me how to hunt." He said, his words coming out slurred and sluggish. "Those bassterdss deserve to die."_

 _"Who, Dean? Come on, sit down." He encouraged, taking the two items from his hands gently before guiding him to the couch._

 _"The Carver's." He elaborated, gesturing with drunken movements. "They fucked everything up!"_

 _"The Carter's?" Bobby clarified, rolling his eyes when Dean nodded vigorously. "Son listen, I'll teach you tomorrow but for now why don't you rest."_

 _"I'm hunting no matter what even if you don't help me." Dean promised, sounding surprisingly serious in his intoxicated state._

"He asked me to teach him how to hunt, told me he was going to even if I didn't teach him. I was protecting him, Kate." Bobby tried to reassure, leaving the drunken 3:00 am visit out of the story for Dean's sake.

She shook her head and crossed her arms, still feeling betrayed but less pissed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why do you think I had you take that Ohio case?" Bobby asked smugly, chuckling to himself.

"So that she'd run into me. And you knew that we'd be too distracted to handle the case so you had Ellen and Jo work it too." Dean piped in, filling in the blanks.

"You are a meddling old man." Kate quipped but was unable to hide her small smile.

Everything had worked out. Dean and her were speaking again, she was hunting with her brother, and Ash would lead them straight to his siblings. Things were looking up.

That is, until Dean got a phone call.

….

 **TBC**

 **Hope you enjoy. From here on out it'll be less romance drama to more actiony drama. Leave me a review if you want to make my day. Have a good rest of your week.**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT: The One With The Phone Call**

They were piled into Dean's car, barreling down some backroad at 70 mph.

"What exactly did Caroline say again?" Kate asked from the passenger seat. It was a strange feeling for there to be so much space between her and Dean. Normally when they rode in his car she was pressed up against his side, clinging to him.

"All she said was that we had five hours to get to a factory in Summerset city or she's gonna start killing my friends." He replied, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. "She doesn't seem to know that we are all together though. Caroline only asked for Ash and I."

"And why are we just waltzing in to the trap?" Tyler asked from the back, seeming wary of Dean's plan.

"This is what I've been waiting a year for. We're gonna gank those sons of bitches tonight."

Ash leaned forward from the backseat, grabbing Dean and Kate by the shoulders. "Let's just think of this as a little road trip! Family bonding time!"

While Dean just rolled his eyes, Tyler shoved Ash back into the seat. "If you ever imply we are family again, I'll gut you."

"Lighten up, jolly green. We all have a common enemy here." Ash reminded, his snarky grin firmly plastered on his face.

"Don't make me pull this car over." Dean snapped, glancing in his rearview mirror at what felt like two children in his backseat. After a few muttered 'he started it' from both, it was silent throughout the car.

Kate chuckled slightly, shaking her head before turning to Dean and saying enthusiastically, "Only 300 miles to go!"

….

 _Sixteen years ago…_

 _"Ash! It's simple. All you have to do is cut off any bits that dangle. Is it really that hard of a concept?"_

 _Ash was standing there, looking white as a sheet as he looked at the soul he was supposed to be torturing._

 _She was in her mid-thirties, fair-skinned, and screaming at the top of her lungs while she hung from the wall by chains._

 _His hand was shaking, the same hand that was holding the bloodied knife Xavier had just used on the woman._

 _"Do I need to get Dad?" His brother threatened, a sneer evident in his voice._

 _But Ash was still focused on the woman who had_ _ **not stopped screaming**_.

 _A few moments later, he was being dragged from the cell in Hell by his father who was holding on to him a little too harshly._

 _"Ash, I just don't know what else to do with you." Julian's voice was calm. In most cases, that was almost worse than if he was angry._

 _They were walking down the hall, the knife still clutched in his hand._

 _The woman._

 _The woman was still in his head._

 _"You're a demon. A Carter. Do you know what would happen to our reputation if word got out my own son can't do his assigned duties?"_

 _They were in a room, the knife now gone from his hand._

 _The woman._

 _The woman's screams still echoing in his skull._

 _Ash finally was broken from his trance when metal clamped around his wrists._

 _"I guess the only way to get through to you is to demonstrate on you."_

 _While this was going on, Jake Carter was standing outside the door, using every bit of will power he had not to go in there and help his little brother._

 _…._

The last four and a half hours of the trip were spent in silence. No one dared to speak seeming as they were potentially driving to their deaths.

But, even with that thought in mind, none of them hesitated as they got out of the car and met at Dean's trunk.

Kate had spent some of the car ride carving devil's traps into bullets that she began passing to each person to load their guns with. She then grabbed her engraved knife her mother had given her and a flask of holy water. Ash opted to just use the gun since his demonic powers would be of most use to him. Dean tucked his pistol in his waistband and placed a metallic little sword into his jacket pocket. Tyler was armed similarly to Kate except he carried a sword like Dean's. Neither hunter knew where the swords came from, just that Bobby had a couple laying around and they killed demons.

Once fully armed, the group all took a moment to collect themselves.

Tyler suddenly looked at Ash straight in the eye, a promise clearly shining in them. "If you double cross us, you can bet your ass I'll kill you." He paused before turning to Dean. "And I'll kill you for bringing him into this."

Kate punched him in the arm. "Do we have a plan?"

…

Dean and Ash burst through the front doors of the factory.

"Well if it isn't the dynamic duo. I see you opted for no stealth today, huh boys?"

Dean shrugged casually and smirked, locking eyes with Caroline who was sauntering towards them. "I guess I was just too damn excited to kill you."

"Oh sweetheart, that's cute." She patronized, eyeing him up and down before turning her attention to Ash. "Brother, how's it been going? I'm sure it's tiring to have your lips stuck to Dean's ass 24/7. Although, I wouldn't mind it." Caroline shot a clearly disturbed Dean a wink before her expression turned sour. "I have to say, of all the times you've managed to mess up, this has got to be the worst. Teaming up with a hunter of all things."

"Yeah, well. The usual was getting boring." Ash countered before taking a look around. "How long do you plan on waiting before you call your backup out?"

She chuckled softly before raising her hand lazily and waving.

That's all it took to have 20 demons descend into the room from the various openings around the open space.

Dean and Ash both took on an offensive stance, Dean yanking out his gun and leveling it at Caroline.

"No rush boys. Why don't you two stay awhile?" She offered, looking confident in her plan.

Two seconds later, Kate and Tyler barged in.

Caroline looked delightfully surprised as she took in the group. "My mistake. Looks like we have the fearsome foursome with us today. Does that mean you two love birds are back together? I have to admit, I was always rooting for Team Date. Angst is only _one_ of my guilty pleasures."

"Are you going to continue to talk our ears off or can we just get on with it?" Dean quipped, earning a glare from Caroline.

"Fine, have it your way."

Just like that, a frenzy broke out in the warehouse as all the demons lunged forward and started attacking.

The four broke off into pairs, Dean and Ash working together on one side while Kate and Tyler took the other but they all knew that there were too many demons and too few of them.

Gun shots were firing, swords were clashing, and people were yelling as all hell broke loose.

And then the loud speaker came on.

 _Exorcizamus te…_

The group all froze as they looked around to try and locate the source of the exorcism since none of them had started it.

 _Omnis Immundus Spiritus…_

Demons everywhere were trying to keep inside their bodies but it was no use, the exorcism was doing its job.

 _Omnis Satanica Potestas..._

Caroline locked eyes with Dean, a deadly threat portrayed in the look. "You've started a war. I hope you're ready to fight it and watch everyone you love and care about burn with you."

Dean tried to hide his obvious concern but by the satisfied sneer on Caroline's face right before she snapped her fingers and vanished, convinced him she knew.

She had him scared.

Kate turned towards Ash, confused. "Why didn't you and Caroline smoke out?"

"Technically, we aren't full-fledged demons. You may have heard of the term Cambion before? Basically we're half-demon half-human. Some of my family is more demon than others. But, all the powers and black eyes came with age." Ash clarified, surprised they hadn't known that after all these years. "There's a lot about my family you don't know."

"Well, I think that's a story for another time." Dean changed gears, trying to keep the others from knowing how freaked Caroline had him as he clapped Ash on the shoulder. "But, I think the plan worked well. Probably was the smartest thing we've ever done." He complimented sarcastically, a toothy grin spreading across his face.

"That's probably true for you, the list of all the smart things you've ever done is _very_ short." Tyler added before looking around, missing the one-fingered gesture Dean gave him. "There's nothing we can really do here except to see if any of the vessels are still breathing."

The group split up to check the meat suits but they all turned out to be just that: meat suits. Every single body had some type of fatal wound on it.

"I'm not surprised. Dad has a strict policy to only possess dead people." Ash stated off-handedly.

"Why? Since when does he care about other people?" Tyler questioned, finding it odd.

"He wasn't worried about their safety. He was worried that if a demon got exorcised and the person started blabbing about demonic possession, it would bring unwanted attention. Especially since there was never only one demon in a town. Bring a hunter around, they could destroy his whole operation with just a few sentences in Latin."

"What kind of operations, exactly?" Kate asked, wanting to focus on that part of Ash's explanation.

"You know, I'd love to continue sharing trade secrets with you all in the middle of the warehouse we just banished a bunch of demons from, but I'd rather have the rest of this conversation back at Bobby's." Ash said with a little annoyance before going out the front door.

"$200 bucks says Ash won't tell us anything. His loyalty isn't with us. Like I've said from the very beginning." Tyler said harshly, staring directly at Dean.

"Ty, he had a point. We should get out of here." Kate prompted, tired of Tyler constantly trying to place blame on Dean.

He turned with a scoff and walked out of the room, Kate and Dean lagging behind.

"So, listen." Dean started, rubbing his neck nervously. Kate turned to him quickly, his serious tone sparking her interest. "All that stuff Caroline said really got me thinking." He confessed, avoiding eye contact with her. "I still love you, Kate. I uh-" He licked his lips, clearly stalling which she only found endearing. "I just want you to know that I do love you and always will, okay?"

Instead of seeming happy, Kate was worried and a little suspicious. "Dean, I do know that and I love you too." She said softly, taking his hands in hers. "But is everything okay?"

He forced a smile, not wanting to tip her off to what he was planning on doing. "I just wanted to make sure you knew, especially with how dangerous our lives have suddenly become."

She nodded and was surprised when Dean pulled her in for an embrace, Kate tucking her head underneath his chin. She could not feel any safer anywhere else.

….

 _Ash was staring blankly ahead._

 _He couldn't feel his father cutting into him slice after slice._

 _He couldn't register Xavier coming in with a look of mixed emotions._

 _He couldn't see his blood dripping to the floor._

 _He had gotten good at shutting himself down during these…_ _ **experiences.**_ _This was probably the third time it had happened and Ash was positive it wouldn't be the last._

 _He knew how to stop his father. How to stop the sneers from Xavier. How to stop the pitying looks from Jake. How to stop the condescending words of encouragement from Caroline. He knew how to stop everything._

 _All he had to do, was pick up a blade and_ chop.

 _What was stopping him? He was a demon for fucks sake. But he couldn't,_ _ **wouldn't**_ _, do it for just the sheer enjoyment like his siblings would._

 _His father was talking to him. He had to make sure he responded or else he'd never get out of here._

 _"…as Hell's leading family, we can't afford slacking. We need to be the one's sending a message and that message can't be that my own son can't do what's necessary."_

 _"Where's Mom?" He finally spoke, his voice gruff from being unused. How long had he been in this room?_

 _"Your mother-"_

 _"Is right here."_

 _Ash and Julian both turned towards the doorway where Peyton and Jake both stood, the burning fires of Hell itself shining in her eyes._

 _"Julian, get out."_

 _He hesitated but only for a moment before tossing the blade on the floor and exiting the room._

 _Jake ran to his brother's side and unlocked the chains while Peyton followed her mate out the door._

 _…_

When they got back to Bobby's, it was revealed that it was him who had called a nearby hunter to put the exorcism on the loud speakers.

Thankfully, this little bit of downtime gave Dean and Kate a bit of time to talk.

"Hey." Dean began brilliantly as he sat down across from Kate at the kitchen table where she was nursing a beer.

"Hey yourself."

"So, this has been nagging at the back of my head for months now and you don't have to answer if you don't want to-"

"Dean, just spit it out!" Kate laughed, remembering just how cute it was when he rambled.

"Was it the Carters that killed your mom?"

Out of all the questions he could've asked, Kate was prepared the least for that one. "Yeah." She answered softly, shaking her head. "I have no idea how. All my dad ever told us was that he had gotten knocked out by Julian and by the time he woke up, my mom was dead and Julian was gone. A month after, my dad dropped Ty and I off here and never came to pick us up."

"So in nine years you haven't talked to him once?" Dean questioned, not being able to imagine going that long without talking to his father if he was still alive.

"Oh, no. I have conversations with his voicemail all the time." She joked, trying to lighten the mood a little bit but Dean could still see the hurt clearly evident in her eyes.

They continued to talk, Kate explaining everything she wished she had a year ago. She talked about why she really worked for the FBI and what Bobby was like when she was a kid. It was nice. It was the first actual calm conversation the pair had had in over a year.

….

 _Three years ago…_

 _"I am so glad you brought this hot young thing with you, Tyler."_

 _He was standing a couple feet away from a werewolf that had Paige's arm twisted behind her back. "Let her go if you want even a chance of making it out of here."_

 _The plan had royally gone wrong. They thought they were walking into one isolated pack of werewolves. Instead they walked into three packs._

 _All his backup was on the other side of the building, working to handle the major population they hadn't been expecting._

 _Paige and Tyler had come over here because she had wanted to see if there were any stragglers around._

 _There had been._

 _Paige had wondered ahead of him and then the next thing he knew, she was in danger._

 _The wolf snickered before drawing his attention to the girl's neck. "I don't know. I won't change her if that's what you're afraid of. But I'm just imagining what it'll feel like to rip out her throat."_

 _"I'm warning you." Tyler threatened, a promise clearly stated in his words as he tightened his grip on his silver blade._

 _"Count to three."_

 _Tyler had been so focused on the werewolf holding Paige hostage that he hadn't even heard two coming up behind him._

 _One of them accidentally made a noise, causing Tyler to be able to dodge a split second before he would've been hit upside the head with a piece of metal._

 _He managed to sink his blade into one of them before the other grabbed him from behind._

 _Before it could tear into him, a gunshot rang out and the body behind him went limp._

 _Everything seemed fine right before a scream pierced his eardrums._

 _"_ _ **Tyler!"**_

 _Tyler turned just in time to watch the werewolf who had been holding Paige pause right outside the open window of the room. "I'll be seeing you, Lavalette."_

 _Tyler's now shaking hand rose to his mouth that had fallen open as he gasped before he moved slowly over to Paige._

 _He knelt down and stared in horror as blood seeped from the open bite wound on her neck._

 _She choked on the blood that was building up in her throat causing Tyler to break out of his trance. He helped her sit up and rocked her, trying to put pressure on the wound the best he could. "Shhh… it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay."_

 _The hunter who had come to Tyler's rescue a few moments ago walked over, his head shaking in regret and disgust. "Balls… I'm sorry Tyler, if I had just been a little faster."_

 _"It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay."_

 _Tyler didn't even see Bobby crouch down and close Paige's unseeing eyes._

 _After ten minutes, Tyler stood up, a determined look on his face as he wiped his cheeks of any last remnants of tears. "Will you help me make a pyre?"_

 _Bobby seemed startled but nodded. "Of course, son. Whatever you need." He reassured, feeling the loss himself. He had met Paige before; Tyler had been so excited to introduce his badass hunter girlfriend to everybody._

 _"Tell other hunters to never fall in love."_

….

 **TBC**

 **Thanks for reading. Leave a review if you want to make my week.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Just a quick warning, there's mention of physical abuse between Tyler and his father in this chapter. If you're sensitive to that, skip the flashback.**

 **CHAPTER NINE: The One With The Hunt**

"Who feels up for a hunt?"

Dean and Ash looked up as Kate walked into the room, holding up two pieces of paper fresh off the printer. Kate watched as hesitation briefly flashed across Dean's face before he covered it up.

"Depends, what is it?" He asked, taking a swig from his beer.

Kate sat down next to Dean, spreading the papers on Bobby's wooden table. "It's strange and the only reason I think it's a case is because I know the signs. There's this town in Iowa that has had twelve animal attacks in two weeks."

"Okay, so maybe they should have an open hunting policy." Ash stated, not seeming impressed by the information.

Kate gave him a look before sliding a paper over to him. "Does that look like a normal animal attack to you?"

Ash lifted the paper where two pictures showed a body that was found at a crime scene with their throat ripped out. "How the hell did you get these?"

Kate shrugged as she took the paper and handed it to Dean. "Hacked into the police database. But that's not the important part. The police are keeping the autopsy reports private, even from the victim's families. I talked to one of the officers on the phone and they refused to accept any other possibility besides a wild animal."

"So what, you think the precinct is full of vamps?" Dean asked, grabbing the other sheet of paper to look at the newest article.

"Either that or the police are covering things up." Kate offered, the fact that the department was keeping secrets seeming off to her.

"What the hell, let's go check it out." Ash said excitedly as he stood up, clapping Kate on the shoulder. "I'll go pack."

After he had gone up the stairs, Kate turned to Dean as he started to leave to do the same. "Are we really going on a hunt with him?"

Dean smiled slightly. "Kate, I promise, he's on our side. Hell, he was a half decent hunting partner this past year. Just give him a chance."

She just nodded, still wary on how loyal Ash was going to be. But, the only way to find out was to go for it.

….

"I can't believe Ty let us go without much of a fight."

Dean chuckled as he glanced over at Kate. "I can't believe you suggested we take your car."

"There is nothing wrong with my car. It's cute."

"What says 'I'm a bad ass hunter who could kill you in a second' like a cherry bug?" Dean quipped, grinning at her when she shot him a glare as he pulled onto the express way.

"Are you two going to be like this the entire drive? If so, let me put in ear plugs now." Ash piped up from the back seat, leaning forward. "Can I just say, I think this Dean is much more intolerable than the one I had spent the past year with."

Kate glanced back at him. "What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes, as if the answer was obvious. "Sure, the Dean I hunted with was super broody and just overall a major buzzkill, but it was better than this overly cheery, 'my life is complete again' Dean."

"Hey, I was not broody!" Dean fired back, a little embarrassed that Ash was revealing how much of a mess he was without Kate.

"Would you prefer the term grumpy? Cranky? Moody? Crabby?"

"I would prefer if you'd just shut up." Dean said before turning up his music to drown out a laughing Kate and an annoyed demon.

….

 _Nine years ago…_

 _"Dad, you can't keep doing this."_

 _Tyler shook his head as he picked up five empty beer bottles from off their coffee table, taking them over and putting them in the recycling bin before heading back over to his passed-out father._

 _"Ty?"_

 _He looked up to see a sleepy Kate walk down the stairs, scratching at her bed head as she squinted in the bright light of the living room. "What's going on? Is it Dad again?"_

 _"Don't worry about it. Go back to bed, Katie. He's already asleep."_

 _Kate walked over and crossed her arms across her chest, wearing a black tank top and pink athletic shorts. When she finally got closer, she got a better look at Tyler's face and instantly got angry at the bruise that was already forming on his cheek. "He hit you. Again."_

 _"Kate. I said don't worry about it." He said, this time his tone stern as he headed to turn the light off._

 _Kate met him at the light switch, putting her hand over it to stop him from turning it off. "We need to talk about this."_

 _"It's only been three weeks since Mom died. Cut him some slack." Tyler defended, grabbing Kate's hand and moving it to turn the light off._

 _Kate flicked it back on, earning a glare from Tyler. "This is not okay! This has been happening more and more. Just because Mom died doesn't give him an excuse to hit you or drink himself to death!"_

 _"Kate! Let it go!" Tyler growled at her, the pair freezing when they heard movement on the couch._

 _Kate watched as Tyler physically cringed as their father sat up on the couch. "What the hell are you kids yelling about now?" He demanded angrily, looking around for a bottle to drink._

 _"Nothing Dad. Go back to bed." Tyler tried to soothe, not in the mood for another of his father's tirades._

 _Paul glanced between the pair as if he was debating whether he wanted to start a scene in front of Kate or not. Even in a drunken rage, he had been careful to never do anything too drastic in front of his baby girl. So he sat back down on the couch and waited for his children to both go back to bed, trying to ignore the guilt eating at his gut as he saw the bruising on his son's face._

 _…._

Thankfully it was only a quick five-hour car ride to Pella, Iowa so it gave the trio very little time to kill each other.

Once they arrived, they headed straight for the police department, all decked out in their FBI suits.

"I will never get used to these damn monkey suits." Ash grumbled, tugging at his tie to try to loosen it.

Kate quickly smacked his hand away. "The FBI don't have loose ties. Suck it up."

Ash shot a bewildered look at Dean but all he got in response was an amused shrug.

The group walked inside, immediately going up to the main desk with their badges out.

"I'm agent Monroe, these are my partners Agent Black and Smith. We'd like to talk to the officer in charge of the recent animal attacks." Kate explained, giving the blonde woman in front of them a smile.

She returned the smile and focused her attention on her computer, clicking her mouse a few times. "That'd be Officer Amy Beckett. She's the brown-haired officer over there." The woman pointed to the left of the station where three officers were standing by a desk talking.

They nodded their thanks before heading over.

"Officer Beckett?"

She held up a finger to her fellow officers before looking at the FBI agents showing her their badges. "Agents, what can I do for you?" She asked, clearly confused why they were there.

"We just have a few questions about the 12 animal attacks you've had recently." Dean explained, tucking his badge away.

Officer Beckett nodded and gestured for them to follow her to an empty interrogation room so they could talk.

"Agents, can I be frank?" She asked, receiving nods all around. "We have always had animal problems around here. That doesn't mean we need the FBI to come and stick their noses in our business."

"Well we just wanted to make sure it wasn't a bunch of vampires." Ash deadpanned, earning horrified glares from Kate and Dean.

"You know about vampires?" Officer Beckett asked, sighing in relief.

"How do _you_ know about vampires?" Kate shot back, her hand moving towards her jacket pocket for her knife.

Amy seemed ashamed as she shook her head. "I didn't until about five months ago when I got this job. They practically run this town; have for the past three years. They've threatened police to keep their secrets, telling us to chalk murders up to wild animals in exchange for them not killing us or our families."

"And you guys never thought to ask for help?" Dean asked accusingly, the thought of all those innocent people dying because they were incompetent angering him.

Amy shot Dean a 'really?' type of look. "Last time I checked, the existence of vampires wasn't common knowledge. It's not like I could go to the next town over and yell 'vampires!' hoping for some help. We don't even know how to kill them if we were stupid enough to try."

"Amy, I'm going to be honest with you. We can help." Kate begun to explain, the officer's eyes widening in surprise. "We aren't FBI agents. We're hunters. We track down monsters like vampires and take care of them. We'll help you get rid of 'em."

Officer Beckett grinned, for the first time since she got this job she felt safe. "I can't believe this, thank you so much. I don't know a whole lot of information, only that they are squatting in a foreclosed home on the edge of town."

"That's all the information we need." Kate reassured, before adding, "But, we're gonna need you and your coworker's help."

…...

 _Nine years ago…_

 _"Dad, where are you going?" Tyler asked groggily as he made his way down Bobby's steps, yanking a t-shirt over his head._

 _Paul was halfway out the front door with a duffel bag in hand, pausing to look back at his son. "Stay here with Bobby and look after Kate. I'll be back."_

 _"Dad, back from where?" Tyler asked again, grabbing a hold of his father's arm._

 _Paul yanked his arm away, shoving his son backwards to where he landed on the floor hard on his butt._

 _Bobby came walking out from the kitchen after having heard the thud Tyler made with a puzzled expression. "What the hell is goin' on?"_

 _"Stay out of it." Paul growled, the smell of alcohol coming off him in waves._

 _Bobby reached his hand out to help Tyler up, hoisting him up to a standing position._

 _"Tyler, do what I told you."_

 _He didn't even have time to respond before Paul retreated out the door, slamming it behind him._

 _…._

"Wow, that's the nicest foreclosure I've ever seen." Ash pointed out, eyeing the two-story home with admiration. "Just how many vamps do we think are in there?"

Dean shook his head, sticking a machete in a sheath that attached to his belt. "Amy didn't know. She guessed five but I'd rather go in thinking we're dealing with a whole lot more than under estimate."

Kate nodded in agreement. "What do we think the best plan is? Knock on the front door or sneak in the back?"

"Dean and I always liked to just knock. Go big or go home." Ash offered, not missing the way Kate tried to not show that she was irritated that him and Dean had a regular approach.

"Fine, let's go before I change my mind."

Ash and Dean both walked up first, taking position on either side of Kate as she knocked sharply three times.

They waited only moments before the front door opened.

"Well well well, look at what we got here. Ann, you'll never guess who decided to pay us a visit."

Standing in the front doorway was a vampire about Dean's height with blond hair, the leather jacket and black motorcycle boots fitting the style of a mullet rock star. A few moments later, another voice came from inside the house.

"Please, come on in. We don't bite."

….

 _Eleven years ago…_

 _"Caroline, would you cut it out?"_

 _Ash was watching as his sister paused in her latest activity, a small pout evident on her face._

 _They were in some run-down bar in Massachusetts where they had a hunter tied to a barstool right underneath a dartboard._

 _"Ash, you are the biggest buzzkill." She rolled her eyes as she threw one last dart, narrowly missing the top of the hunter's head. "I'm just trying to send a message."_

 _"I think he's got it loud and clear. Right, Travis?"_

 _Travis nodded vigorously, praying to be let go as he watched Caroline saunter over to him. "Shame, I was hoping to play a game of pool next."_

 _Ash chuckled slightly as Caroline untied him, hauling him up and shoving him towards the exit. "Tell your friends, Travis."_

 _The hunter could not have fled from the bar faster, not even looking back as he slammed the door behind him._

 _"Ash, I swear you used to be more fun."_

 _"Can we just go, Care?"_

 _"Fine." She huffed, heading to the door before she paused. "You don't really seem to enjoy anything that a demon should." She pointed out, having no hint of judgement in her voice, only genuine wonder._

 _"What? Of course I do." Ash sputtered quickly, obviously not convincing her._

 _"Ash, I'm not Dad. I couldn't care less if you like it or not. It's not like you can change it. Might as well fake it till you make it, right?"_

 _Ash was surprised to say the least. Never before had she said anything like this. She always acted like she felt a certain kind of thrill with being a demon and that he was strange for not feeling it too._

 _"Just put on a good show for Dad. You know he doesn't like your lack of dedication." She reminded, her hand on the doorknob._

 _"Do you like it, Care?" Ash asked quietly, dying to know the truth about how his sister really felt as her hand stilled on the door._

 _She flashed him a grin. "Of course I do."_

 _Ash could tell though. He could see the forcefulness behind the smile, he could hear the remorse in her tone. What was she really like? Did she actually hate everything as much as he did?_

 _He would never know the answer because four days later, their mom was dead and Caroline began her spiral downward._

 _…._

"Well if it isn't Kate Lavalette. I heard rumors you were back in the game but didn't believe it until now. I gotta say, it's an honor. Can I get your autograph?" Ann slowly descended the spiral stairs, her eyes trained on Kate with an almost hungry gleam.

"How about I carve it into you?" Kate offered, patting her machete for emphasis.

"Feeling feisty this evening, are we?" She asked with amusement, her gaze sliding over to Dean. "And this must be your newbie hunter boyfriend, Dean Winchester. Word about you is traveling fast. I'd be careful if I were you."

"Why's that? I would think it's monsters like you who need to be careful." Dean retorted, eyeing the two vampires in the room.

"You keep up the pace you got now, damn near every monster will know your name and face, just like Kate here. In a world full of monsters, it's not a good thing to have name recognition." Ann pointed out as she now stood next to the other vampire.

Dean seemed to think about it for a moment but shrugged lazily. "I think I'll take my chances."

Ann put her hands up in a defensive gesture. "Hey, it's your funeral. Can't say I didn't warn you."

"How about we skip the meaningless chit chat and talk about how you've got the police department wrapped around your finger?" Ash piped in, speaking for the first time.

Ann's eyes darted to his, smirking while she looked him up and down. "Ash, it's been awhile."

"You know her?" Kate asked, not seeming that surprised that he knew other monsters.

Ash shoved his hands in his front pockets, looking nonchalant. "I _knew_ her. The Ann I met only drank animal blood."

"I still do, my vegan diet hasn't changed."

"Then how do you explain 12 dead in the last two weeks?" Ash fired back, grinning smugly like he got her.

"Why don't you join us for dinner? I've got a steak thawing." Ann derailed, gesturing with her hand behind her to a kitchen.

"Why don't you just start talking?" Dean threatened, his hand moving towards the weapon on his hip.

Ann only seemed entertained. "Let me put it this way, we will be eating within the half hour. Whether it's you guys or the steak we eat, is completely up to you." She beamed at them, the vampire next to her opening his mouth tauntingly.

Needless to say, the trio joined them for dinner.

…

 **TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN: The One With The Hunt Part Two**

Dean had to admit, this was definitely the weirdest situation he had been in since he started hunting.

For starters, there were two vamps sitting across from him in a small dining room, their teeth sunk into a raw steak.

Second, _he was sitting across from two vamps sucking on a raw steak._

Thankfully, they were kind enough to cook the steaks that Kate, Ash and him were eating. But it didn't make the situation any better.

After they had all been eating in silence, the trio keeping their gazes firmly aimed at their plates, Ann wiped her mouth and cleared her throat.

"So, I'm sure you have lots of questions. Let me start off by saying, we didn't kill anyone."

The group listened, eager to hear what kind of story they were going to spin.

"Jack and I moved here about five years ago after the rest of our nest had gotten killed by hunters. There were only three of us that survived." She started to explain, Jack's back going rigid at the last sentence. "Our friend, Andrew, came here with us."

"And where is he now?" Dean asked, glancing around worriedly.

Ann sighed, clearly troubled. "Up until two weeks ago, he was here with us. He was completely fine with the all animal diet for two years after we moved here until one day he just snapped but he still stayed with us."

"We tried our best to cover his tracks. Going so far as scaring the police officers. We told them to say any murders that had the victim's throats ripped out needed to be ruled an animal attack. If they saw Andrew feeding on someone, they were to walk away and go back later for the body." Jack finally added, shaking his head. "Before he was only killing maybe two people a week, normally hikers, tourists, but you saw the body count as of recently."

"What made him up his feeding?" Kate questioned, her brows scrunched as she tried to take everything in. Just the fact that vampires were eating animals instead of people was enough to make her head spin.

Ann shrugged, seeming at a loss. "Your guess is as good as ours. We've been too nervous to track him down incase hunters like you showed up. Figured one of you would take care of him."

"So that's it? You don't care if he dies?" Ash accused, his tone judgmental.

"Of course we care!" Jack yelled, standing up from the table. Ann quickly put out a hand to grab his arm gently, trying to keep him calm. "There's just no other alternative." He added quietly, sitting back down.

Ann met Kate's eyes, her gaze unwavering. "We'll do whatever we can to help you find him."

….

"So at least we're just dealing with one vampire instead of a nest." Dean pointed out optimistically as they drove to the nearest bar in the town.

Ann and Jack had been pretty helpful. They showed them a picture of Andrew so they knew who to look for and Ann had told them that she's seen him at the local bar recently.

"What do you mean? We have three vamps to kill." Kate corrected, shooting him a confused look.

"Ann and Jack don't kill people. Hell, they'd probably be great allies if we ever happen to need some vampires on our side. Why would we kill them?" Dean questioned.

"Dean, they're monsters. End of story."

"No, they were once people who didn't necessarily choose to become vampires. They're a species, it's their actions that make them a monster." Dean continued, not giving up. He could feel it in his gut, it was wrong to kill Ann and Jack. They didn't deserve it.

"Just because you befriend one demon doesn't mean all monsters deserve the same grace." Kate said harshly, obvious underlying resentment in her tone.

"Hey, don't drag me into this. I was just sitting here!" Ash defended himself, leaning forward. "Although, I just want to say, I'm gonna have to side with Dean-o on this one. You're an old hunter Kate, stuck in her ways with your dad's words drilled into your head. Cool it with the stereotypes."

Dean's brows shot up in shocked amusement while Kate scoffed. "Fine, but if it comes back to bite us in the ass, I'll say I told you so."

Thankfully, before anymore fighting could ensue, they arrived at the bar, the group getting out wordlessly to head inside.

"Do we got a plan?" Ash asked, stepping inside the dimly lit building.

"Isn't that him walking out that door with some girl?" Kate pointed out, directing Dean and Ash's attention to a tall man and woman making their way out the back door.

Kate and Dean nodded at each other, Dean and Ash taking off towards the back while Kate went out the front door.

"Jesse, I promise, I'm gonna rock your world."

The girl giggled, covering her mouth as she followed the guy outside. Sure, she had just met him but her friends had told her she needed to start living life. Doesn't a one night stand count as living life?

He shoved her up against the wall, planting a hungry kiss on her mouth before he slowly started making his way to her neck, leaving a trail of kisses as he went.

"Haven't you read the sign? No soliciting."

The couple turned to see Dean standing a few feet from them, waving at the pair with his machete.

"What the hell?" The girl said fearfully before she ran down the alley without a second thought.

"I gotta admit, I have no idea who you are. Most hunters I know. Not that it'll matter, you'll be dead soon enough."

"You sure, Andrew? You seem to be outnumbered." Ash quipped, who was now standing behind the vampire.

"So, you know my name and where to find me. Lemme guess, that Ann bitch sold me out?" Andrew sneered, glancing back and forth between the two.

"Ouch. That term's more offensive than you think."

Andrew spun around just in time to stop the machete that was about to plunge into the side of his neck. "Kate Lavalette. I feel like I'm in the presence of a celebrity."

Dean charged forward, weapon raised, but Andrew quickly shoved Kate away from him before grabbing Dean by his jacket and throwing him up against the dumpster.

The vampire crouched forward and grabbed a stunned Kate with his mouth open, ready to bite.

"Kate, no!"

"Hey douchenozzle."

This time Andrew wasn't fast enough to stop Ash's machete from whizzing through the air.

Kate looked up at Ash, who now had blood splattered on his face and clothes, with astonishment.

"You actually saved me." She said in awe, accepting his hand when he leaned down to help her up.

Ash shook his head in disbelief. "I really don't know what else I could do to show you I'm on the same side as you guys, Kate."

"I believe you." She told him before they turned their attention to a groaning Dean who had just stood up.

"Who's up for a beer?"

…

The group decided to go pay another visit to Ann, letting her know that Andrew was dead and her and Jack's secret was safe with them. She had been pleasantly surprised, but thanked them profusely before they left.

"So, do you plan on telling us about what kind of operations your dad has going?" Kate finally asked after they had been driving back to Bobby's for an hour.

"Only because you asked so nicely." Ash said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "So, it'll help if you picture a human soul as a battery, a source of power, alright? Now, picture the entire population in the U.S. All those people, all those souls, all those batteries. They're pretty tempting for demons." Ash explained from the backseat, gesturing while he talked. "Now, demons have the ability to take souls."

"By their crossroad deals, right?" Kate interjected, having heard this before.

"Right. Some poor sap wants to sell their soul for money, some chick, a promotion, whatever. They come to a crossroads, make a deal. Whatever their wish is, we grant it. In ten years, they get some hell hounds on their ass to collect their soul."

"So, wait. You guys will do whatever the person wants just for their soul in ten years?" Dean asked, glancing from the road to look at Ash in the mirror.

"Well the soul is a source of power. It's kinda like we're filling up our arsenal. Now my dad wanted more souls coming in. When he took over as the King of Hell, the numbers were kinda low. He decided to fix that. In every major city in the U.S., he's got about fifteen demons there. Each go out every day, picture them in San Francisco, New York, Orlando. They go out and close deals. Lots of them. In big cities, they close over a hundred deals, easily."

"How long has this been going on?" Kate questioned, her stomach dropping at the thought of how many innocent people have lost their souls.

"Fifteen years, give or take. But, hunters have seriously become more abundant in that time too. The numbers have fluctuated over the years. If it makes you feel any better, more demons have been getting sent back downstairs because they've been getting exorcised." Ash tried to make things better but Kate still had a sinking feeling in her gut.

"Your dad's gotta be stopped." She stated earnestly, willing to stop at nothing to take him down.

Dean nodded in agreement, Ash snorting from the backseat. "Yeah well, that's easier said than done."

"So we'll come up with a plan! We'll get back to Bobby's and start researching."

"Or Caroline will kill all of us before we even get a chance to get near Julian." Dean muttered, earning a suspicious glare from Kate.

"Caroline's all talk. Trust me." Ash encouraged, knowing his sister.

"Whatever." Dean said dismissively before he turned up the radio, silently signaling he was done talking.

Kate and Ash may have their own plan, but Dean wasn't willing to wait for them to come up with an idea. He planned to take matters into his own hands as soon as they were back at Bobby's.

….

"Ash, can I ask you something?"

It was just Kate and Ash in Bobby's living room. He nodded warily before plopping down on the couch next to her.

"Why did you help Dean? Back at the warehouse?" She asked, nothing but curiosity shining in her eyes as she looked at the demon.

Ash chuckled slightly. "Sometimes I don't even know. When he first got there, I was all for the plan. But then Xavier told me he knew nothing about hunting. We had figured you told him about us and the supernatural. Obviously, that wasn't the case. But uh, I think I just felt sorry for him. I knew I couldn't stop my family so the least I could do was give him a fighting shot. He got sucked into a life that wasn't his, now he's part of the fight with no way out. I guess all of us are."

Kate just nodded, knowing Ash wasn't wrong.

 **….**

 **TBC**

 **Please leave me a review. It lets me know you guys are actually enjoying it. Thanks for reading.**


	11. Chapter 11

**So, I know you guys are probably wanting to find out what Dean's plan is but first, a little background chapter.**

 **CHAPTER ELEVEN: The One With The Background**

 _Three years ago…_

Kate waved at the bartender, nodding at him with gratitude when he placed another shot of tequila in front of her right next to two other empty glasses.

She had just downed the drink when she felt a presence next to her.

"Can I buy your next round?"

She looked to her right where a guy was standing there and she had to admit, he was _smokin' hot._ Whether or not that was the tequila talking, she didn't know.

"Well that depends." She began, the man raising his eyebrows questioningly. "Only if it comes with no obligations."

"No obligations?" He asked, seeming caught off guard by her answer. "What do you mean by obligations?"

She eyed him up and down, taking in the grease stained jeans and his red button up shirt. "Well, normally, when a guy wants to buy me a drink it's because he wants to get in my pants." She said bluntly, watching as his eyes widened in amused shock. "Like, you'll buy me a drink. Because you paid for my next shot, I'm going to feel _obligated_ to ask you to join me and then we're gonna talk and you're gonna use some cheesy pick-up lines on me." The guy laughed out loud, clearly entertained by the scenario she was describing. "So, the night will either end with me telling you to take a hike and I'll have to deal with your bruised ego telling me I'm missing out. Or, I'll go home with you and sneak out in the middle of the night leaving you feeling abandoned."

Kate watched as he digested what she said before he shook his head with a smirk. "Well it sounds like you've got just about every guy in this bar pegged."

Kate shrugged, grinning broadly. "You can still buy me a drink if you want, but don't expect anything for it."

He considered it for only a moment before he motioned for the bartender to fill up her glass, laying down a twenty-dollar bill on the counter. "Enjoy your drinks." He said before walking away.

Kate was struck. He hadn't said it with sarcasm or malice. He had said it as if he actually hoped she _would_ enjoy them and his twenty was definitely going to buy her more than just one shot.

With the tequila taking the wheel, Kate spun in her barstool to face his receding back. "Hey, grease stains!" He turned around, eyeing her with confusion and a hint of smugness. "What? Am I not pretty enough or something?"

The guy walked back over, now less amused and more puzzled. "Excuse me?"

"Am I not pretty enough for you to sit here and beg me to talk to you?"

He chuckled. Kate made a mental note that she liked the sound of it. "I don't like to bother women. Especially the hot ones."

Kate seemed to consider that thoughtfully before she turned this into a 'fuck it' situation. "Well now you have to sit here and drink with me. You passed the test." She waved at the bartender again, passing one of her shots to the guy now occupying the barstool next to her. "I'm Kate." She said before holding out her glass towards him.

His lips tugged up slightly as he took his shot, clinking it with Kate's before drinking it. "Dean."

….

 _Twenty years ago…_

"Julian, I don't want you to be alone."

He looked down to where Peyton was resting her head on his chest, having just interrupted the comfortable silence between them.

"I don't want our kids to watch their mother die of old age." She continued, already predicting what her husband was going to say.

"So, what are you suggesting?" He asked, seeming wary.

"I want you to take me down to Hell so I can become a demon. Like you. Like our kids." She deadpanned, feeling as Julian's arms tightened protectively around her.

"There is no reason for you to become one of us." He stated, hoping to end the discussion right there.

Peyton moved so she could look him in the eye, cupping his cheek. "Julian, let me do this. We've been together for 5 years. I don't want a lifetime. I want an eternity."

Julian just nodded, in no way disagreeing with her.

….

Kate felt her back hit the wall of the bar's bathroom before Dean's lips were slamming against hers.

She had to admit, this was completely out of character for her. But, then again, she had downed five shots of tequila so this must be what drunk Kate was like.

It hadn't taken long for them to get to this point. To be honest, Kate wasn't sure she'd even remember any of this in the morning. Dean had introduced himself, they started talking about how great tequila was and how a few more shots would do them both some good. Next thing she knows, she's making out with a complete stranger in the unisex bathroom of a bar.

By this point, Kate's shirt was on the ground and she knew she'd have to wash it a good six times before she'd trust all the germs to be off of it but at the moment she really didn't care. Dean was in the middle of unbuttoning his when Kate grabbed his hands.

"One and done?" She said, her eyes roaming his half uncovered chest. She couldn't get involved with some random guy she met at a bar. That is not the type of story she wanted to tell her friends and family.

"No obligations."

That was all Kate had to hear to finish ripping his clothes off.

….

 _Eighteen years ago…_

"Jake, come on!"

Jake Carter looked up from the picture he was in the middle of drawing to watch as Ash ran towards him.

"Can we play a game?" He asked, his pudgy child fingers pointing towards the swing set that was set up in their backyard. "We can play angels and demons! But I call being the angel." He shot his brother a toothy grin, excitement coming off him in waves.

Jake rolled his eyes but couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. "Fine. One round!"

Peyton watched from inside as her two boys ran out the back door to play. "You could go out and play with them you know." She looked down at Xavier who was standing by her side, watching with longing eyes.

"I don't want to hurt him again." He said quietly, eyes dropping to the floor with shame.

Peyton kneeled to be at his level and used her finger to lift his chin up. "Accidents happen. And look," She gestured out the window to show Ash laughing as Jake chased him. "Ash is all right. You just have to be careful, that's all." She tried to reassure him but he just shook his head.

"No mama, I won't take the chance. I will never hurt my brother again." Xavier swore, at the time meaning every word he said.

…

"Ah, the walk of shame."

Dean looked up with annoyance after shutting the front door to find his little brother staring at him with a smug grin on his face.

"I'm just thankful you didn't bring her here. I didn't feel like explaining why you 'suddenly had to leave.'" Sam quipped, making air quotes with his fingers.

"You know what, Sammy? At least I'm actually getting laid."

"Dude, I'm seventeen. That's not something that's high on my list of worries at the moment. I have two months before my college applications have to be submitted and they need to be perfect." He reminded his brother, turning and grabbing a gallon of milk from the fridge of their parents' house Dean had inherited when their father died.

Dean just shrugged and walked through their living room to get to the kitchen where Sam shoved a mug full of coffee in his hand.

"So, who was it this time?" He asked, watching as Dean sipped his drink gratefully. He watched as his brother smiled just the slightest. "Oh no, don't tell me you found someone you actually like?"

"Why the 'oh no'?" Dean asked, scrunching his brows.

"Come on. We both know every time you like a girl you date her for a couple weeks before you break her heart. Don't do it to another poor girl."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Sammy, I'm telling you, this one's different. But you don't have to worry. It was a one and done, no obligations type of deal."

"You told her that?" Sam questioned, seeming suspicious.

"No, actually, she told me that. It was the first sentence out of her mouth."

Sam seemed to accept it but he could see the disappointment written all over Dean's face.

"You know the one huge thing I remember about last night though?" Dean asked, running a hand down his face. "And it wasn't how good the sex was, I mean it was mind blowing-"

"Dude."

"But, I told her that..." Sam could tell his brother was embarrassed by the way he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I told her she couldn't handle what was under my jeans."

"You didn't." Sam said, horrified. "Exactly how drunk were you guys? Like is she gonna remember that?"

"I don't know. God, I hope not." Dean admitted, his cheeks turning red from the memory.

Sam glanced at the clock, his eyes widening before he shoved a piece of toast in his mouth. "mmm mmhhm hmggh."

"Sorry, didn't catch that."

Sam quickly swallowed, holding out his hand. "Can I borrow the car? I need to stop at the library to get a book for class."

"No problem. Can you fill her up while you're out?" He asked, sticking his hand in his back pocket in search of his wallet. When he didn't find it, he frantically checked all his other pockets and even ran over to the couch where he had set his jacket. "Son of a bitch…"

"It's okay, Dean. I can pay for it."

"No, it's not that. This girl's theme the entire night was 'no obligations'. If I left my wallet at her place, she's not gonna feel obligated to return it." He said, thinking about all the hassle he was going to have to go through to replace everything he had in it.

…...

 _Fifrteen years ago…_

Mom was dead.

Caroline couldn't believe it. Her family had told her she wasn't needed so she could stay in Hell to finish up the rack she was working on. Even with all her begging, Julian had still insisted she stayed behind.

Now look what happened, Caroline had lost both her mother and brother all because Ash had been too damn stupid to not get caught in a devils trap placed by a fourteen year old girl.

Well, she would be damned if she let this affect her. Instead of moping around, Caroline picked up a blade and started chopping.

…

"Hey, Bobby. I don't think I'm gonna be able to head your way today."

Kate was sitting at her motel room's kitchen table and rubbing her temple with one hand and holding her cellphone up to her ear with the other. She was supposed to leave to spend the weekend helping Bobby organize all his books but with this bad of a hangover, Kate could barely get out of bed.

She could practically hear Bobby's eyeroll. "How many shots did you have this time?"

"I don't know. Probably like five."

"You got that high of a tolerance?"

"Bobby, I've been drinking since I was sixteen. I've had plenty of practice." Kate reminded him, standing up to go track down a bottle of Tylenol.

"Normally you don't drink that much when you're alone."

Kate found a bottle in her duffel bag and quickly popped two pills in her mouth. "That's because I wasn't alone." She said off handedly, hoping he wouldn't ask any questions.

"I hope you at least used a condom."

"Bobby! No offense, but that's not something I want to talk with you about." Kate said, sounding mortified. She walked out of her bathroom to go change her clothes but when she went over to the bed, she saw something brown sticking out from under it. Going over, she bent over to find a leather wallet lying there.

"Kate, I've bought feminine hygiene products for you. We passed boundaries five exits ago."

"This is not good." Kate cursed under her breath, opening up the wallet to the license of Dean Winchester. "He left his wallet here."

"So? Just return it." He offered, not seeing a problem.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Bobby, I spent practically the whole night telling this guy it was a one and done type of deal. I can't just show up! What if he wants more?" She said, although, the more she thought about it she really wouldn't mind a round two.

Now it was Bobby's turn to roll his eyes. "You've got yourself up on a high pedestal. Just return the damn thing, the man needs his wallet."

Even though Kate hated to admit it, she knew Bobby was right. She could talk a hard game about no obligations, but she wasn't going to make him replace everything just to prove a point.

….

"Mommy, why can't I go to school? Xavier and Caroline got to go."

Peyton looked down as Ash tugged on her pant leg, gazing up at her with disappointed eyes. "They only went for a year and that was before we realized how fast you guys grow."

"Why do we grow faster than everyone else?" Ash persisted, not quite willing to let it go.

Peyton sighed as she picked him up and went over to their rocking chair, setting him on her lap. "Honey, I promise, I will explain everything to you. But not yet, you're too young."

"I am not!" Ash roared, crossing his arms defiantly.

She shook her head, wishing that she didn't have to keep having this conversation. "Ash, it's too dangerous. You know how you and Xavier were playing that one time and he shoved you really hard without touching you?" She watched as Ash nodded, showing no signs of being traumatized from that incident. "Well you can do that to, remember? Now what would happen if you went to school and accidentally did that? It wouldn't be good."

Ash uncrossed his arms but the pout on his lips didn't move. "I wouldn't want to hurt anyone."

Peyton rubbed his back before kissing the top of his head, hiding the haunted look in her eyes. "I know, sweetheart. Sometimes you just can't help it."

….

Dean's head turned away from the TV at the sound of three sharp knocks on his front door.

"Can you get that, Dean? I'm doing my homework."

Dean got up, switching the television off as he did so before making his way to the door and opening it.

"Alright so I really went back and forth on if I wanted to return this or not."

Kate came in like a whirlwind, gesturing with her hands as she spoke. Dean could see his wallet in her right hand as shock took over his features. "What happened to no obligations?" He asked, leaning against the wall to his living room with his arms crossed where Kate had walked into.

She turned and gave him a crooked smile. "I'm not a total asshole. I wasn't going to just not give it to you." She rolled her eyes and handed it to him, trying not to focus on how hot he was. She noticed that this time, she didn't have alcohol fueling her thoughts, she had _really_ wanted to see him again.

"You know, I am happy you stopped by. I wasn't really a fan of your 'one and done' policy." Dean admitted, shoving his wallet in his back pocket.

"Oh is that so?"

Dean leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers but when Kate went in for the kiss, he moved to her ear to whisper in it. "I hope you don't feel obligated though."

Kate chuckled and grabbed his face in both her hands, guiding him back to her lips before she whispered, "I only hope you can handle what's under my jeans."

"Get a room you two!"

Kate pulled back abruptly, staring at an embarrassed looking Dean.

"That's my little brother who doesn't know when it's a bad time to interrupt."

Deciding she didn't care, Kate shook her head with a grin before Dean pulled her close.

….

 **TBC**


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE: The One With The Plan**

 _Now…_

After everyone had grabbed a bite to eat and started on some research, Dean decided it was time for a beer run.

"You're leaving?"

Dean paused after picking up his car keys to look at Kate. "I was gonna go pick up a case or two. I'll be back in half an hour tops." He reassured her. Kate's shoulders relaxed slightly, though she still looked concerned.

Dean went over to where she was sitting cross-legged on the couch with a book in her lap. The group had decided to do some research on anything that could be useful in taking down the Carter's.

He gave her soft kiss on her cheek, hesitating just for a second before pulling away. "I'll be back."

"Correction, _we'll_ be back."

Ash walked into the room with a lop-sided grin on his face.

"Ash, why do you want to come?" Dean questioned, really _not_ wanting the demon to tag along. He knew he would only complicate things.

"I need out of this house. It smells like desperation and crushed hopes and dreams. Let's go."

"Hey!" Bobby yelled, clearly offended from the kitchen where by the smell of it, he was cooking an apple pie.

Ash took off outside, leaving no room for argument. But, Dean wasn't going to fight him further since he didn't want Kate to be suspicious.

With one last look at her, he followed Ash out to his car.

….

Dean wasn't sure what to do.

His plan had just got set into motion and already it's been compromised by the demon singing "Highway to Hell" in his passenger seat.

The whole ride to the gas station Dean spent trying to figure out what his plan was. He had to make sure Ash wouldn't interrupt him.

He went inside and picked up two cases of Kate's favorite beer and after he paid and went to his trunk, he finally had his answer.

They were driving down a country road when Ash finally spoke up. "Dude, are you sure we're going the right way?"

"I took a left on McGregor." Dean reminded, trying to seem like he hadn't known that was the wrong way.

"Weren't you supposed to take a right?"

"I don't know, man." Dean pulled off to the side of the road and turned the car off. "Can you reach back there and see if there's a map? I'll call Bobby. I'm sure he knows his way around this area."

Ash did what he was told and as he leaned back, Dean quickly brought out a pair of handcuffs and attached one end to the demon's wrist and the other to the steering wheel.

"What the hell?!" Ash exclaimed, utterly surprised as he saw the warding engraved on the cuffs.

"Ash, I need you to stay here. Someone's gonna have to bring my car back to Bobby's." Dean paused for a moment, setting something on the seat in between him and Ash. "Make sure Kate gets this."

"Why? What are you talking about? Dean! Come back! _Dean!"_

Dean was already out of the car and grabbing something from the trunk before taking off down the road towards a crossroads.

….

It had been twenty minutes since Dean had left and Kate was getting antsy. So, instead of pretending to read the book that was on her lap she decided to go outside and make a phone call.

She pulled out her cell phone and punched number two on her speed dial and waited for the beep that indicated she could start her message. When it happened, she couldn't help the slight stir of disappointment that she felt that he hadn't picked up.

"Hey Dad. I just wanted to update you." She was walking while she talked, moving away from Bobby's house because she didn't want Tyler to overhear her and think she was calling a lost cause. "We found Dean. Turns out he's been hunting for this past year and the last six months he teamed up with Ash Carter." She paused with a small smile, knowing what her dad's response would be. "I know you'd probably think Dean was a traitor or something but Ash hasn't done anything to prove his disloyalty." She realized she was rambling so she hurried to her point. "Anyways, Tyler, Dean, Ash and I are at Bobby's hoping to find something strong enough to take down the Carter's." She sighed, wishing he would've just picked up. "I'll call if we find anything."

She hung up, wondering if her father had heard any of the messages she had left for the past nine years.

….

Dean had everything he needed. After all that time he had spent at Bobby's learning how to hunt, he had had plenty of time to know exactly what he was doing.

He took the small tin container and placed one of his fake ID's inside it that Bobby had helped him make before putting it in the gravel and burying it.

He glanced around, expecting some big show but instead just heard a soft _whoosh_ from behind him, a chill creeping down his spine.

"Caroline. How did I guess that it'd be you who'd show up?"

She snickered as she sauntered over to him. "Well, normally when you summon a crossroads demon any Tom, Dick or Harry shows up. But when I heard it was Dean Winchester calling, well, who could pass that up?" She crossed her arms as she stopped a foot away from him. "My only question is, what do you want?"

"I want you to leave everyone I know and care about the hell alone." Dean demanded, trying to seem more confident than he felt.

He had to admit, standing there with no form of protection, Caroline staring him down like he was some piece of raw meat, was almost enough to make him turn tail and run.

Caroline burst out laughing at the mere idea. "You're kidding right? You think we'll stop just because you said so?" She finally contained herself enough to speak again. "Maybe if you would've said please."

"What do you want?" Dean growled.

"How about…." Caroline pursed her lips before moving to where her mouth was right by his ear. "Your soul?"

"My soul?" He clarified, seeming confused as she circled him.

She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Come on, Dean. You knew how to summon a crossroads demon and now you're gonna try to act like you don't know what they do?"

Deciding to drop the act, Dean sighed. "Fine. Ten years you come and collect."

"Ten years?" Caroline said in disbelief. "You must be joking."

"Why? That's the normal deal you demons cut."

"Well you aren't a normal case, now are you? Especially with the price you're asking, I'm not buying unless it's less than a minute."

"What? You're telling me I don't get any type of timeline? You just take my soul here and now?"

"I won't sick the Hell Hounds on you if that makes you feel any better." Caroline offered as if that made the deal sound more enticing.

"It's a good deal, Dean."

Dean looked to watch as a tall, dark-haired man who seemed to appear out of nowhere joined them in the middle of the crossroads, placing a hand on Caroline's shoulder. "Especially with what I plan to do to that pretty little brunette you're so fond of."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Julian Carter. Pleasure to meet you."

Dean went white as a sheet as the name triggered alarms in his head. He had to be honest, he was exactly as he pictured. Dean could practically see it, the _wrongness_ coming off of him in thick dark waves. "How can I make sure you guys keep your word? What's stopping you guys from dragging me to Hell and then going after them?"

Julian rolled his eyes and gave his daughter a disbelieving look. "We're demons. Deals are what we do. They're binding, if we break our side, the deal is off. If you break yours, it's off." He explained, sounding business-like as if Dean was just signing a deed to a house.

"Dean, don't you dare."

He spun around, shock and guilt written all over his face as he saw Ash entering the crossroads.

"Well isn't this just a family reunion!" Caroline spoke, overly perky. "Ash, lovely to see you."

Ash ignored his sister and completely avoided eye contact with his father. Instead, he focused on Dean. "The only way you're making that deal is if I'm going with you."

"You're crazy if you think I'm taking you down with me." Dean stated, shaking his head.

"Hm… interesting proposal." Julian began, taking a daunting step towards Dean. "So interesting in fact, I'm going to make that one of our demands." Julian specified, hungry eyes landing on his son before flicking back to Dean. "Two birds with one stone, much more efficient especially when one bird comes willingly."

Dean glanced back and forth between the family members and thought if he should betray Ash or not and say yes.

"Before you make your decision, I would ask Ash how his time in Hell has gone before." Caroline quipped, shooting her brother a knowing look.

Dean looked at Ash with scrunched brows, clearly not understanding why Ash would know what it's like.

"Dean, you don't want to do this. Trust me. We'll find another way." Ash practically begged, desperation and fear evident in his eyes.

Kate's safety was on the line. Sam's safety was on the line. Was Dean really going to throw that away because of a demon?

"Fine. Deal." Dean stated with no regrets. At least, until he looked at Ash and saw the look of betrayal shining like a beacon on his face.

"Splendid."

….

"Xavier, I need you to put down that blade. I have a special job for you."

Xavier looked to the doorway of the cell he was currently torturing a 37-year-old business tycoon in to find his father there with an almost child-like look of excitement in his eyes.

"I haven't seen you this happy since you killed Miranda Lavalette. What happened?"

Julian smirked slightly and clapped his hands together as his son set down the blade and followed him outside of the room. "Dean Winchester just sold his soul and guess who tagged along with him?"

"Ash?"

"Bingo." Julian put an arm around his son's shoulders and began guiding him down the hallway, screams reverberating off the stone walls. "In exchange, I can't harm a hair on Katherine's pretty little head or anyone else he cares about. I need you to go break the news to her."

"Wait, what? Wouldn't that be violating the deal?"

Julian rolled his eyes. "It would if you were to hurt her. I just want you to go and rub it in her nose that I've got her boyfriend in my grasp. I would ask Caroline to do it but you know how dramatic she can be and she's a tad busy."

Xavier nodded. Although he loathed going up there, he definitely wanted to be the one to be the bearer of bad news.

….

Kate was worried.

It had been an hour since Dean and Ash had left and neither of them were answering their phones.

"That's it, Bobby. I'm going out to find them." Kate announced, already grabbing her green hunting jacket and her car keys.

"Now hold on just a minute. Where exactly are you gonna look?" He asked her, crossing his arms in anticipation of her genius plan.

Tyler came in the room as Kate scrambled for an answer.

Bobby sighed and shook his head. "When Dean first showed up at my doorstep asking about hunting, I thought it would be a good idea to keep track of him for you." As Bobby talked, he moved over to his kitchen table to the laptop that was sitting there opened. "I put a GPS tracker on his car."

"Wow, Bobby. I'm surprised you even know what that is." Tyler joked as he headed for the fridge for a beer.

Bobby just shot him a dirty look before turning to the screen. "Alright, it says he's about 20 miles east of here."

"Great, let's go." Kate encouraged, watching as Tyler didn't move a muscle. "Are you coming or what?"

He shrugged casually, not seeming worried. "Kate, I'm sure he's fine. Him and Ash are probably just having a heart to heart or something. Besides, if he doesn't come back, no skin off my back."

Right when Kate clenched her fists and was about ready to kill her brother, there was a knock at the door.

Deciding it was better to remove herself from the situation rather than fight with Tyler, she hurried to the door and opened it before dropping her keys to the floor.

"Dad?"

…...

 **TBC**


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The One With The Unexpected Visitor**

"Hey, at least they decided to have us share a cell."

Ash looked over at Dean who was forcing a smile. Dean could see as clear as day the anxiety and fearfulness that was shining in Ash's eyes.

And it was all his fault.

Dean wouldn't blame him. Just being here, in the darkest corner of Hell, would be enough to scare anybody.

They were locked in what looked to be a 12 by 12-foot cell. Everything was black. There wasn't a stich of color unless you counted the splatters of red on the walls and floors from blood. The cell was empty; no bed, no racks, nothing.

But the lack of interior decorating isn't what was forming a knot in Dean's stomach. It was the screams.

Cries of agony and desperation of varying pitches made their way down the long corridor they seemed to be situated at the end of. They were screams of broken people. People that had lost all hope.

"Ash, can I ask you somethin'?" Dean started carefully, this thought scratching at the back of his head as he tried to focus on anything besides the screaming.

"Hmm?" He answered. Dean was able to detect a hint of malice, surely directed at his betrayal.

"Why did Caroline want me to ask you about your time down here?"

Ash gave him a thin-lipped smile and looked off to the side, seeming as if he had been expecting the question. Deciding there was no use in ignoring Dean for the next eternity, he sighed and tried to let go of his anger. "Fifteen years ago I was a crossroads demon. My whole family actually used to be, besides my mom. But uh, I was pretty good. Great actually. I mean, you've met me. You've witnessed my irresistible charm." Ash managed a smile, continuing when Dean rolled his eyes good naturedly. "So, I made deals. Dozens a day. I just tried to stay out of everyone's way, you know? But, by this point, I was the only one in my family still making deals. The rest had made their way down to Hell to do... other activities." Ash paused again, mentally debating how much he wanted to tell him but then deciding to go for it. "I had just sealed a deal with this smokin' hot chick, right? It was the end of the day and my dad shows up. I figure he's gonna tell me I'm doing a good job or something. But instead he starts talking about how making deals is beneath the Carter name.

"So, he had me follow him down to Hell and put me in a room with Xavier and some guy who had sold his soul just to get an extra three inches below the belt. He had been there for a century or two so this wasn't his first rodeo but it was mine. Before I really knew what was happening, Xavier started hacking into him and after so long, he had finished all of his demonstrations. Next thing I know, he's putting the blade into my hand and telling me to start chopping."

Dean didn't want to hear this. Why would Ash think he'd want to know about him torturing some guy?

Ash could see the suddenly disturbed look on Dean's face so he quickly continued. "Dean, I swear, I never once touched somebody. The whole time I was watching my brother tear this stupid bastard apart, my stomach was churning." He reassured, relaxing when he saw Dean nod with sincerity. "The thing is, when I didn't do anything, Xavier called my dad. The first time he just let it go, chalked it up to being just nerves. But the next time, he thought the only way for me to learn was for him to demonstrate the techniques. On me."

Dean's eyes widened in guilt as a shiver coursed down his spine. What did he get Ash into? If Julian would torture his own son so awfully even before such a big betrayal, what was he going to do to him now?

"The only people who ever stood up for me were my mom and Jake. But after, you know, the 'training sessions' just got worse and more frequent." Ash took a deep breath, feeling almost relieved to have all that off his chest. "So basically the moral of the story is I'm the worst excuse for a demon ever."

Dean shook his head. "I think on our side of things, you're probably the best kind of demon to have around."

The pair was silent, the echoes of suffering the only noise.

"I should've left a more descriptive note. Kate's gonna end up killing herself trying to find us." Dean suddenly realized, sliding to the floor of the cell with his head in his hands.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. I can guarantee my dad's gonna have Xavier or Caroline go tell Kate."

"Wouldn't that be violating our deal?" Dean asked, hoping Julian wasn't that stupid.

"It would if you had said he couldn't ever talk to her. But you said he couldn't hurt her, physically. I'm damn sure he's gonna send someone to rub her nose in the fact he's got us down here." Ash said, knowing his family well.

Dean felt hopeless. The news will break Kate and that was the last thing he wanted.

….

"Where is he?"

Paul barged in the house, shoving past Kate into Bobby's living room.

"What in the hell? Paul?" Bobby asked, clearly flabbergasted.

Tyler went white as a sheet but stayed silent, his face not seeming as shocked as the others.

"Where is he?" Paul demanded again, his face red.

Kate followed him into the living room, shoving her car keys in her jacket pocket. "Where is who?"

"Ash Carter." The words were coated in hate and disgust as he started towards the stairs, pulling out his gun.

"Dad! He's not here! Him and Dean went on a beer run."

That seemed to calm him down for at least a moment. But after a second, he rounded on Tyler. "I left you in charge and what happens? You let your sister start gallivanting around with demons? Let alone _this_ demon?"

Tyler clenched his fists but Kate chimed in before he could say anything. "Dad I'm 25 years old. No one is in charge of me." She defended, not wanting to be treated like a child. "Also, do you really have any room to lecture? You disappeared for nine years without any contact! But apparently you still got my voicemails." She said, her tone turning icy at the end.

"It's only been four months since I've seen Dad." Tyler spoke up, looking ashamed.

"Tyler-" Paul started to warn but Tyler was far from caring.

"Dad and I would get together about every four months."

"What?!" Bobby and Kate both yelled, looking nothing less than pissed.

Paul ran a hand down his face with frustration but instantly turned remorseful when he saw the hurt and anger on Kate's face. "Honey, I'm sorry-"

"So you won't answer my calls when Tyler and my boyfriend are kidnapped by the same demons that killed mom, but you could have father son bonding time for the hell of it regularly?!" She spat, gesturing wildly.

"Just because I didn't call you back doesn't mean I didn't look for them myself." Paul countered, trying to dig himself out of the hole Tyler had dug him.

"Well, no offense, but you really suck at looking." Kate shot back at him, having no respect for the man in front of her.

"That would imply that he was actually looking."

Everyone's eyes immediately looked to the open door where Xavier was standing right in the threshold.

….

"We gotta come up with a plan." Ash said abruptly, standing up to pace back and forth in the small space.

"A plan for what?"

Ash rolled his eyes. "To escape?" He asked sarcastically, as if that should've been clear.

"Ash, if we escape, Julian will kill everyone I care about!" Dean tried to reason as he stood up.

"Plus, even entertaining the idea of escape is just a waste of time."

Dean and Ash's heads whipped to outside their cell to where a very smug Caroline was standing.

"Dean, surely you don't plan on being grumpy the whole time you're down here, right?" She purred, draping her arms on the cell bars.

"Bite me."

"Come here and I will."

"Alright, Care, can you just, ya know, go away?" Ash asked, growing tired of her arrogance.

"I have an offer for Dean." She said vaguely as she eyed him hungrily.

"What kind of offer?" Dean asked warily, moving slightly closer to the bars.

"I know you got yourself a fancy anti-possession tattoo. Let me peel it off and ride you, you'll get to see Kate again. Granted, I'll be in control but I can still make sure you see her!" She said enthusiastically as if it was the best deal she could offer him.

"Sorry, pass."

She shrugged it off, trying to not seem disappointed. "Fine, rot down here. I'll be seeing you two tomorrow for our first session." She winked at both of them before walking away.

"What does she mean by 'first session'?"

….

"You really picked a bad time to show up." Paul snarled, his gun already out and aimed.

"Papa Lavalette. Finally back from whatever hole you had decided to crawl into?" Xavier quipped, a smug grin tugging at his lips. "How long has it been? Nine years? I half expected to see you when we kidnapped your son but, alas. Nobody ever said you were father of the year."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Bobby demanded, a shot gun full of rock salt gripped in his hands.

Xavier rolled his eyes. "You all are so dramatic. I'm here to declare a truce. Pretend I have a white flag in my hand."

"Why would you want to have a truce?" Kate questioned, obviously suspicious of the sudden change in attitude since Caroline had literally just tried to attack them.

"The funny thing is, it wasn't even our idea. Actually, if I recall correctly, it was your boyfriend's!" He took a second to let that sink in, enjoying the way it made Kate's face fall. "He offered up his soul in exchange for never harming a hair on anyone's head that he knows or cares about. Unfortunately, that includes everyone in this room. But, the real kicker, is Ash even offered himself up as part of the deal to try to get Dean to rethink things but he went ahead with it anyways. Two birds with one stone!"

"How do we know you're not lying?" Tyler asked, although he had to admit, he wouldn't be sad if Ash was really down in Hell.

"My dad made the deal himself. What reason would I have to lie when the truth is so much better?" Xavier pointed out, smirking at the way they all seemed to find the logic in his statement. "Well, anyways, I just wanted to be the bearer of bad news. I'll send your love down to Dean and Ash. Have fun with your family reunion." With a quick wink, he was gone.

"This is unbelievable." Tyler sighed with exasperation, shaking his head.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kate spun to face him, his clearly irritated tone easily heard.

"Have you noticed lately that all we've been doing is coming to Dean's rescue? I mean, he got kidnapped by Xavier,-"

"So did you-!"

"Then we walk into that warehouse with him in a headlock by some demon and now this. No offense, but he is the definition of a damsel in distress and a selfish one at that. I mean, taking Ash down with him? I'm not saying I'm a fan of the guy but last time I checked they were friends."

"You realize he's only been in those situations because he knows me, right?" Kate reminded him, not feeling the need to calm the frustration she felt building in her voice. "That he spent this past year tracking down the Carter's to get revenge for us? And frankly, _Dad_ ," She began, rounding on her father. "He did a hell of a lot better job then you did in the nine years you were supposedly looking for them."

Paul was confused at first why she brought him into her rant but then figured it was because of the annoyed look on his face.

"Plus, Tyler, you know what? Just because you had the love of your life die because of hunting doesn't mean you need to be so against Dean being a part of this family."

Bobby was standing there shell shocked and feeling completely out of place in their family feud. Luckily, Kate gave him an escape.

"Bobby, will you go with me to get Dean's car? Someone's gonna have to drive mine back."

"Of course." He quickly grabbed his jacket from of the back of his kitchen chair before following a still very upset Kate outside.

….

Kate almost instantly regretted getting out of her car. It was cold for early November, the cool wind was whipping around her, nipping at her ears and nose and making her want to retreat to the warmth of her cherry bug.

But she couldn't. She had to know for sure.

Her and Bobby had plugged in the address they had pinned Dean's phone to into her GPS, the pair only having to drive twenty minutes before they arrived near a crossroads.

Not too far ahead of where Kate parked her car was a very familiar Chevy Impala.

She walked over to it hesitantly, only faintly hearing Bobby getting out of her car and shutting the door.

She ran her hand lovingly over the top of the Impala, coming to a stop when she reached the hood where a set of keys were on top of a piece of paper.

Kate was shocked the paper hadn't flown away. She picked up the keys and tucked them in her pocket before she slowly unfolded the note.

 _One and done, right?_

 _-D_

Kate steeled herself, knowing now was not the time to be upset. She just put the note in the same place the keys had gone and tried to calm her emotions as she wrapped her jacket tighter around her.

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder give a reassuring squeeze.

"We'll figure out a way to save em' Kate. I promise."

She just nodded, knowing that it was going to be the one and only promise Bobby couldn't keep.

She handed him her keys before climbing into Dean's car, having just turned on the ignition when she heard his phone start to ring.

Feeling eerily creeped out, she reached over and grabbed his phone from the glove box, seeing that he had five missed calls from Sam. She quickly flipped his phone open.

"Dean, thank god, I need you to hurry up and get here, it's Jessica-"

She could tell he was frantic. "Sam, hold on, it's Kate. Slow down. What's wrong with Jessica?"

There was silence on the other end but Kate could still hear him breathing so she knew he hadn't hung up.

"Where's Dean?" He asked hesitantly, obviously worried about her answer.

Kate rubbed at her forehead. "I will tell you everything as soon as you tell me what happened to Jess."

….

 **TBC**


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: The One With All The Guilt**

"We gotta go." Kate said as soon as she walked through Bobby's front door with him trailing behind her.

"What? Why?" Tyler questioned, standing up from the couch.

Kate huffed with annoyance. "Sam just called. Jessica is dead. Caroline killed her."

"What did you find out about Dean and Ash?" Paul piped in, joining them from where he was grabbing a beer in the kitchen.

"They're gone. Dean gave himself up. Ash too." She deadpanned, detaching herself from the fact.

"If they gave themselves up, how could Caroline kill Jessica?" Paul retorted, finding it strange.

"I don't know, Sam was frantic on the phone. Maybe she killed her before Dean made the deal and they didn't bother to tell him. I don't know. What I do know is that Sam's in a motel room with his dead girlfriend about an hour from here. Something about him and Jess being on a road trip." Kate finished, trying to sort everything out in her head. Hoping to not waste any more time, she ran upstairs to pack some clothes and within three minutes, she was back downstairs and ready to walk out the door.

"Katie wait, I'll go with you." Tyler offered, hoping his sister wouldn't decline.

Kate seemed to hesitate but she agreed. After two more minutes, they were barreling down the road.

….

Sam was sitting on the ground, Jessica's head resting on his lap. It would be so easy to pretend that she wasn't dead, that the love of his life wasn't lying lifeless right here beside him.

But she was.

When Kate first walked in, she could've believed Jess was just sleeping. That is, if she didn't take into account the huge puddle of blood beneath her that soaked into Sam's jeans.

It was quiet for a moment, Kate and Tyler both at a loss for words. "Sam?" She began tentatively, inching towards him while Tyler took in the rest of the room.

You could definitely tell something went down. There was a hole in the wall from where the doorknob went through it when the door was slammed open. Some takeout had gotten dropped, Chinese noodles all over the floor. One of the chairs was knocked on its side with remnants of rope still hanging limply from it. The lamp in the corner of the room was knocked over and broken. But the main thing was all the blood slicking the floor.

Kate had made it over to Sam and when she placed a hand on his shoulder, he flinched, letting out a hiss of pain.

"What happened?" She asked quietly, kneeling next to him. She could immediately feel crimson starting to stain her pants but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"I had left." Sam started abruptly, his face blotchy and tear stained. "I wanted to go into town to get us lunch. I was gone maybe half an hour." He paused to take a moment to steady himself, his thumb absently rubbing Jessica's cooling cheek. "When I got back, I saw the door was slightly open and I could hear her sobbing. I rushed in to find her tied to that chair and Caroline stabbing a knife into her stomach." Kate looked down to Jess's body as her insides churned. "I tried to turn around to get my gun from the bedside table but Caroline stopped me, practically ripped my shoulder off."

"How are you still alive?" Tyler asked, looking at him with only sympathy.

Sam scoffed. "I don't know. Caroline only managed to mess up my shoulder before all of a sudden, she got this look on her face… this look of creepy satisfcation, and then she was gone. When I called Dean and Kate answered, I figured it had to be something to do with him."

"Well, you're not wrong." Tyler stated, running a hand down his face tiredly.

"Dean gave himself up to keep all of us safe. So did Ash. As soon as Caroline heard Dean's summoning, she took off."

"Why would he do that?"

Kate just smiled bitterly, looking in the eyes of a lost and broken man. "Because he's Dean."

….

The sounds were definitely the worst.

Dean could pretty much deal with the pain, but to physically hear his bones snapping or his skin sizzling off, that just made it all the more excruciating.

He wasn't sure how long he had been underneath Caroline's blade, but he's positive he should've bled out by now.

He watched weakly as Caroline rested one hand on the metal rack he was chained to, the other placed on his bare chest, right over a patch of burnt skin.

He tried not to let out a hiss of pain but he couldn't help himself from wincing as she indelicately peeled at the charred skin.

"I keep forgetting this is all new to you. I'm sure you have no idea how things work down here." She stated, not stopping her task. If Dean didn't know better, it almost sounded like she was apologetic. "Let me clear some things up. You won't die per say. I mean, if you want to get technical, you're already dead, but see, right now you're bleeding and burned and overall should be dead. But all I have to do is snap my fingers and 'poof!' you're back to normal." She said, her tone making it sound like that was great news. She dropped her voice down to barely above a whisper as she spoke. "In simpler terms, I'll be able to carve into you for the rest of eternity."

Dean just stared at her, trying to muster as much strength as he could into a steely glare.

"So, I'm gonna continue to take this blade," As she spoke, she slowly trailed it down his abdomen, making fresh cuts through burn patches, over old cuts, and digging deeper until he was sure she was hitting bone. "And I'm going to continue cutting into you until I get bored for the day." She continued to speak, even though Dean could barely hear her over his screaming. "And then tomorrow, we'll start right back up again. That is, unless you've reconsidered my offer?" She raised one smug brow at him, waiting for him to concede.

Instead of talking, Dean spit in her face, watching with defiant satisfaction as Caroline lifted her empty perfectly manicured hand to wipe off the blood from her face. "Fine, have it your way."

….

"Sam, should I take a left here or is it the next street?"

Sam looked up from where he was staring out the window to meet Kate's eyes in the rearview mirror. He knew Kate wanted to know the best way to get to the highway to take him back to the townhouse. The same townhouse he shared with Jess.

"Bobby's. Take me to Bobby's."

Kate watched as Sam's face drained of all emotion as he returned his gaze to the buildings whizzing past. She shouldn't be surprised he didn't want to go back to the place that would remind him the most of Jess but it still pained her to see, that because of her, someone else had gotten sucked into this mess.

…

Ash heard the footsteps first.

The heavy pounding of boots hitting concrete was echoing through the hallway before he stood up, meeting the eyes of his latest visitor.

"Caroline almost done with Dean?" He asked, keeping his voice calm, not giving them the gratification of seeing him upset.

"Not quite. Hell, I'd be shocked if she ever left that room. She's not used to being rejected."

"You broke your promise to Mom."

Dark eyes instantly locked with his, a scowl forming on their lips. "And what promise would that be?"

"That you'd never hurt me."

Xavier's eyes dropped to the floor, whether or not Ash saw a flash of guilt in them, he couldn't be sure.

"That was before."

"Before what? Before I stood up to Dad? Before I decided I didn't want to torture innocent people?" Ash shot back, stepping closer to the bars separating him and his brother.

"These people down here are far from innocent. Most of them damned their souls themselves!"

"That doesn't make it any better!" Ash roared, tightening his hands into fists.

Xavier shook his head, a thin layer of disgust written on his face. "You're a demon, Ash. When did you forget that?"

Ash scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "Mom and Jake weren't like you and Dad. Even Caroline used to have a shred of decency up until Mom's death. But you, you've always been only concerned about one thing."

Xavier looked amused, but Ash could tell he was forcing it. "And what one thing would that be?"

Ash smirked, leaning against the hot metal bars. "Being Daddy's little bitch boy."

He was caught off guard as suddenly strong hands reached through the bars to grab his shirt, slamming his face and nose against the metal.

Xavier's grip released as blood gushed from Ash's nose. "You know I'm right. That's the only reason you're so pissed." He turned his head to spit, fresh crimson dotting the floor.

"You're gonna regret every mistake you've made. One way or another." Xavier swore, turning and walking away from his brother.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Ash yelled after Xavier's receding back, not thinking he was going to respond until he called over his shoulder.

"Doesn't matter."

….

"I'm sorry."

Ash looked up, eyeing Dean who was standing on the opposite side of the cell from him. He had been silent ever since he got back from his first session from Caroline so the sudden break in the silence startled him.

"You're what?" He asked, the words coming out in angered disbelief.

"When I made that deal, condemned us both down here, I didn't really know what I was getting us into. I know now." Dean's haunted eyes met Ash's betrayed features. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

"Don't say sorry unless you mean it."

"I do-"

Ash scoffed. "You don't mean it. You're not sorry because you know Kate is safe. Because really, she's all that matters, right?"

Dean was surprised, he hadn't seen this level of betrayal coming from Ash before and frankly, it scared the hell out of him.

"You know what, Dean? Save it. Save the apologies, save your excuses. I was gonna just let this shit go but, I'm probably gonna die within the next few days and don't want unfinished business." Ash paused, taking a step towards Dean with pitch black eyes. "I've saved your ass just as much as you've saved mine over this past year, hell I even saved Kate's on that last vamp hunt. We were doing fine handling my siblings!" He could tell his rage was getting the better of him by the frightened look in Dean's eyes but at the moment he couldn't bring himself to care. "This was so stupid of you. I was your friend dammit, and you threw me to the very people who we've been running from!"

"You willingly hopped on board!" Dean tried to retort but after he saw that Ash just got more pissed off, he knew it was a mistake.

"I only offered myself up, because I thought it would make you think clearly. I actually thought you'd consider not throwing your friend into the frying pan with his family that would sooner want to see him dead!" Ash was right in Dean's face and before he knew what he was doing, he shoved him against the stone wall.

Dean physically heard his shoulder popping out of place as his body rammed into the wall before he felt rough hands grabbing him by the t-shirt.

"You fucked us both over and I hope you're prepared to live with my blood on your hands."

Dean watched as Ash panted over him, the blackness of his eyes seeming to devour his very soul before someone cleared their throat outside the cell.

"Well, Ash, I would say you got all that off your chest at the perfect time."

The pair looked as Julian slowly unlocked the door before pointing a slim finger at his son. "Ash, come along."

Dean grabbed a hold of Ash's shoulder, yanking him back. "Take me instead."

Julian just grinned smugly. "Oh Dean, don't you think it's a little too late to try to be a hero?"

Ash growled at Dean before he shoved him away, following his father out of the cell and down the hall.

….

It had been two weeks and any research the group had been doing hadn't gotten them anywhere. Needless to say, Kate was getting frustrated.

So, in normal hunter fashion, when you can't solve a problem, drink.

Kate was sitting on a stool of a local bar, perfectly content to just sit there and drink her tequila alone when someone sat beside her.

"Kate Lavalette?"

She turned, not recognizing the voice, to see a light-haired man about her age wearing a blue baseball cap.

"Depends who's asking." She said curtly, turning her head away from him.

"Names Mark. I'm another hunter." He explained, gesturing to the bartender to get him a beer.

Kate nodded as she took one of her two shots.

"Listen, I heard about Dean Winchester. My condolences. From what I've heard, he was doing people like us a lot of good. Julian Carter is a real SOB."

Kate, her interest peaked, turned more fully to him. "You got history?"

He shrugged, taking a grateful sip of the drink that was set in front of him. "Six months ago he killed my wife and daughter." He stated, devoid of any emotion. "I was exorcising some demons in North Carolina and Julian didn't like it. Said I was messin' with his operation." He scoffed bitterly, shaking his head. "To retaliate, he killed the only family I had left."

"That sounds like Julian." Kate agreed, taking her other shot and sucking on one of her limes. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, it hasn't been easy." He admitted before waving his hand dismissively. "But, enough of that, I try to focus on getting revenge."

Kate decided not to comment on how unhealthy that was because she was doing the exact same thing. "How do you plan to do that? The usual stuff barely puts a dent in him."

Mark seemed to hesitate before deciding to trust her. "You ever hear of anything called the First Blade?"

She took a moment, trying to rack her brain of anything like that. "No, not that I can remember. Why?"

"Well, legend has it, it's the very same blade Cain used to kill the Knights of Hell."

Kate's eyes widened. "Cain? As in The Father of Murder? Cain and Able?"

"That'd be the one. I figure. If that can take down Knights of Hell, why couldn't it kill Julian?"

Kate pursed her lips in thought before nodding her head. "So, what? Do you have it?"

He chuckled. "No unfortunately, all I got is the idea. I've done research, but nothing concrete." He said pessimistically, picking at the label of his beer. "Anyways, I figured you've got just as much reason to want him dead as I do. Here," He slid a fake FBI contact information card towards Kate. "That's my cell. If you find out anything or want back up or whatever, gimme a call."

Kate just nodded and tucked the card into her jacket pocket.

"Hopefully I'll see you around." He added before giving a small wave and walking away from her. Kate didn't even respond. She just simply pulled out a wad of cash, set it on the bar, and took off outside to Dean's car.

….

 **TBC**


End file.
